To challenge or not to challenge proved to be the question for Andy Murray in a crucial moment of his 2023 Wimbledon 2nd round clash.
Andy Murray ended his 2023 Wimbledon campaign in the 2nd round against Stefanos Tsitsipas following a 5-set thriller. The Brit was in a good position when the Wimbledon curfew stopped the match as he was leading 2-1 in sets.
Things went vastly different when they finally returned to the court as Tsitsipas was able to win the 4th and then the 5th set to complete the comeback. It was an unfortunate ending for Murray who didn't play that well in those final two sets but still had chances to squeeze out a win.
A crucial moment came in the 4th set at 4-4 15-30. Murray was within one point of break points and he played a really solid return which was called wide but was actually in. The replay showed that the ball was actually in, however, the Brit didn't challenge the call.
Murray said later that he would have most likely won the point if the rally continued, after he found out that the ball was in during the press conference, which would have given him two break points to go up 5-4 at 2-1 in sets for him.
Well, I mean, it was right underneath the umpire's nose. They shouldn't be missing. They shouldn't be missing that, to be honest. If they're unsure, they should let the player know, I think.
Murray ultimately elected not to challenge the call assuming that the umpires made the right call but they didn't. He admitted after the match that he should have challenged it because it was a huge point at a crucial point in the match.
But, I mean, it could only have been a couple of meters. It was such a sharp, sharp angle. It was very short. I assumed the umpire would have made the right call. The lines person I think called it out. The umpire called it out.
So, yeah, I mean, you can obviously argue it's a mistake on my part. Ultimately the umpire made a poor call that's right in front of her.
The mistake ultimately cost Murray as he lost that game and the set. He then played a rather shaky final set to lose the match and bow out of the event. Journalists used the opportunity to ask the Brit about his stance on automating these line calls as we will be seeing that from 2025 on the ATP Tour. He admitted to preferring line judges on the court but wouldn't have minded electronic line calling in this particular match.
Right now I obviously would rather it was done automatically. It's a hard one because I probably prefer having the lines judges on the court. I think, I don't know, it feels nicer to me. The challenges, I think the crowd quite like it. I think for TV, they probably quite like it.
But, yeah, when mistakes are getting made in important moments, then obviously as a player you don't want that.
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