Casper Ruud and Joao Fonseca played a fantastic fourth round match at Roland Garros, but it was steeped in controversy as the Brazilian confirmed his place in the quarter-finals.
The second set between Ruud and Fonseca went to a nail-biting tie-break and it featured a murky line call when the Norwegian had a match point.
A member of the crowd called out during one of Fonseca’s shots, which was then disputed by the umpire after she checked the mark of the ball.
After it was determined to be in by the umpire, hawkeye confirmed that the ball was actually out, which would have awarded Ruud the set to level up proceedings. Instead, Fonseca took the second set to take a 2-0 lead. He eventually won the match three sets to one.
Ruud was magnanimous about the Roland Garros mistake, but fans and pundits have been disappointed by the lack of Electronic Line Calls at the Grand Slam.
Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam not to have Electronic Line Calls on the calendar and one of the only clay court events not to adopt the system.
Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo has unveiled a staunch defence of Roland Garros’ decision not to use Electronic Line Calls in a statement following Ruud’s match with Fonseca.
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“We remain open to all developments. But what we observed in the tournaments leading up to Roland Garros is that the system’s reliability on clay courts is not yet complete,” said Mauresmo.
“Under these circumstances, we have chosen to continue relying on human officiating. This does not mean the debate is over, but for now we believe this is the best solution.”
While the tennis has been superb at Roland Garros this year, there have been several controversies at the Grand Slam already in Paris.
Several players, including Katie Boulter, have complained about Roland Garros’ advertising hoardings, as they have caused a nuisance at the back of the court.
Zeynep Sonmez collided with the hoardings in a doubles match, which forced her to unfortunately withdraw from the event with a bruised knee.
Ruud himself launched the same complaint at Roland Garros in his match with Fonseca, which he lobbied with the umpire during the first set.
The Norwegian could be heard stating: “I think it’s more important player health than the frigging sponsors” during a passionate appeal to the umpire.
It was just another disappointment for Ruud as his missed out on the quarter-finals of Roland Garros in a year where he would have been one of the overwhelming favourites, following the early exits of Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner.
As for Fonseca, however, he will not rightly have his eye on the Roland Garros title. He plays Jakub Mensik in the last eight next.
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