Felix Auger-Aliassime ended his 2024 Cincinnati Open campaign in a very unfortunate way, and he's now broken his silence after the controversial ending.
The Canadian was enjoying an inspired run at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, making the third round. He faced Jack Draper in the third-round match and got to the third set, with the Brit leading 5-4, when Draper served for the match.
What followed was one of the most bizarre endings to a tennis match in recent memory, as Draper returned a ball to the other side of a net with an illegal shot. It was illegal because it hit his racket first, after which it hit the court on his side.
That's a point for his opponent, but the ball bounced over the net, and the umpire, Greg Allensworth, didn't see what had happened, so he ruled the point for Draper. As everybody was confused about what had happened, the umpire formally announced it.
He announced that he gave the point to Draper, which ended the match as it was a match point for him. Auger-Aliassime was stunned by this decision, while Draper didn't know how to react.
A discussion followed between the players and the umpire, but eventually, Auger-Aliassime had to accept the ruling. There were many reactions on social media about the match because it was a big mistake by the umpire, and it's even worse because it happened on a match point.
It created a discussion about the need for video review in tennis because such a technology would have prevented this, with even the 24-time major winner, Novak Djokovic, chiming in on the matter.
Still, there is not much Auger-Aliassime could do about it. It's in the past, and he needs to focus on the future and the upcoming US Open. He struck that type of tone in his first post since it happened. The Canadian was silent for a few days after that incident, but he's now posted on social media.
"Unfortunate ending of my tournament here in Cincinnati but I hope we find a way to deal with these situations in a more objective way going forward."
"That being said, I’m still encouraged by the level I played this week leading into the last Grand Slam of the year. Time to move on and focus on my preparation for the US Open. See you in NY."
Auger-Aliassime received a lot of praise for how he handled the situation in real-time. He never seemed angry, and he handled it with a lot of class and poise, which was praised by many fans on social media.
Even this post was worded very calmly by Auger-Aliassime, who didn't lay blame on anybody but called upon those in charge to change things so situations like these don't happen again. The technology is there; it just needs the approval of the ATP and the WTA.
Time will tell whether that gets implemented, but after such a situation, it surely will be discussed again. Players have heavily and publicly backed it a long time ago.
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