WATCH: Bizarre clay court drama, chair umpire overturned a point called good by Adrian Mannarino at the Geneva Open

Usually when a player calls a return made by his or her opponent good, the umpire usually agrees with the player and rewards the point to the opponent.

WATCH: Bizarre clay court drama, chair umpire overturned a point called good by Adrian Mannarino at the Geneva Open

Adrian Mannarino and Umpire Greg Allensworth (Image Credit: Tennis TV)

Adrian Mannarino and tennis fans in general could never have seen this one coming. In the round of 32 match between Adrian Mannarino and Filip Krajinovic, the chair umpire overturned a call made by Mannarino. While serving for the match, Mannarino told the umpire “It’s good” indicating it was IN, for a return made by Krajinovic. But the umpire got out of his chair and pointed at the mark and called it OUT, hence awarding the point to Mannarino.

Now, usually when a player calls a return made by his or her opponent good, the umpire usually agrees with the player and rewards the point to the opponent. But over here the umpire, Greg Allensworth, made sure that it is his word at the end that matters. The umpire also had a short talk with Mannarino, where the French player said that he thought the point was IN. The umpire, in an almost ultimatum-like manner, asked Mannarino, “Are you conceding the point then?,” To which the French obviously indicated as negative.

This did not sit well with Krajinovic, who retorted at the umpire asking him why did he call the point OUT when Mannarino already called it good. He then also argued that if the umpire had made his decision, then why was there a need for him to ask Mannarino. Ultimately, Krajinovic didn’t go any further with the argument as Mannarino was already on his way to victory. Mannarino defeated Krajinovic with a score of 7-5, 6-1.

Geneva Open is underway, the last of the clay tournaments right before the French Open. Casper Ruud, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Zverev, and Grigor Dimitrov are the top 4 seeds respectively, who will begin their matches from the Round of 16.

Keep Exploring: List of Broadcasters for the French Open 2023

Debate rife on whether umpires make it personal while presiding over a match

SUB 24 Y CLAREY videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and an umpire (Image Credit: New York Times)

This was one instance when the chair umpire overruled what a player (Adrian Mannarino) said. In other instances, especially on clay, players argue with umpires due to a call they believe was wrongly called by the umpires. Every clay tournament, there are several such incidents that become a big topic of debate. All because the clay courts follow the old traditional ways of line monitoring and don’t deploy electronic line calls or hawkeye. Most of the time, at the end of the animated arguments, it’s the umpire’s call that prevails.

Recently, in the first-round match between Andy Murray and Fabio Fognini, the brit animatedly fought for a point that was called IN but was OUT. Though the mark was clearly out, the umpire did not budge from his decision. This left fans furious as they felt that umpires were making these calls all about themselves and a matter of ego. Murray had told the umpire later, “Mate, you know you are wrong.“

But recently Novak Djokovic had a huge argument with umpire Mohamed Lahyani over a totally different matter. In the Italian Open, Djokovic accused Lahyani of taking very long pauses in announcing the score, in Italian and then in English. The Serb felt it was deliberate at the umpire’s end and it was just all an act to grab attention.

With French Open around the corner, tennis fans will get to see more of such drama between players and umpires. No one’s complaining as they make for good entertainment.

In case you missed it: