“Embarrassing” – Djokovic Calls for Video Review Technology in Tennis

Posted by Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday August 18, 2024

The king of the Grand Slam Novak Djokovic has weighed in on the apparent lack of tennis video review technology.

Responding to Friday night’s controversy at the end of Jack Draper’s win over Felix Auger-Aliassime in Cincinnati – and social media chatter about X – Djokovic says the madness has to stop.

Read more: Controversy Clouds the End of Draper’s Victory over Auger-Aliassime

“It’s shocking that we don’t have a video replay of this type of situation in court,” He wrote in X. “What’s even more ridiculous is that we don’t have a law that allows chair umpires to change the situation. A real call based on a video review that happens outside the court!

It’s a shame we don’t have video replays of these types of situations in court. Even more ridiculous is that we don’t have a rule that would allow bench umpires to change the first call based on video review that happens outside the court!…

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) August 17, 2024

There is unanimous support among players and fans for the use of video review technology, but tours have been slow to pick up sticks and put a plan in place.

There have been several instances in the past two weeks alone where VAR technology could have helped the game avoid controversy. Frances Tiafoe he was given a raw deal in Montreal when the electronic phone failed to ring during his match with Alejandro Tabilo. Technology could easily ensure that the correct call was made.

A similar situation occurred earlier in the week in Cincinnati, there Taylor Fritz he was denied a point against Brandon Nakashima. Again, a simple tablet check would have fixed the situation.

Imagine you told me I need to stop when we have a Hawkeye electronic line 😂

-Taylor Fritz (@Taylor_Fritz97) August 14, 2024

To the ATP’s credit, the tour announced a rule change to address a situation (missed calls through the electronic dialing system) that occurred during the Tiafoe and Fritz matches.

Here’s what the tour says in the statement on X:

“ATP Official Update: After the recent technical problems with the Live ELC in Montreal and Cincinnati, we have conducted a complete review of our agreements. Going forward, if the Review Official decides during the meeting that the ball was prematurely out of bounds (but it was out. not the plan) , that decision will stand.”

It’s a nice move, but it wouldn’t have helped Auger-Aliassime, who unfairly lost a critical point against Draper on a missed call that could have been properly changed with a quick look at the video.

Djokovic, rightly, feels the tour still needs to do more.

“Everyone watching TV can see what happened during the match, but the players on the field were kept in the “dark” not knowing what the result was,” wrote Djokovic. “We have a phone Hawk-Eye, we live in the 21st century which is very technologically advanced! Please, Tours, make sure this nonsense never happens again!”