Tennis drama overshadowed a match at the 2024 Estoril Open, where a weird sequence of events left both players unsure of what exactly happened.
There was an interesting matchup at the ATP 250 in Estoril on Friday between native player Nuno Borges and Chilen Cristian Garin, a match which took place before defending champion Casper Ruud cruised in his match.
The Chilean won the opening set and was down 2-3 in the second set when the terrible sequence happened. Borges had an advantage, so a break point, and during that point, a spectator shouted out on a ball from Garin's racket that was close but was ruled in.
Borges played the ball but then stopped thinking it was out while Garin continued to play. The Chilean hit the ball wide, which was an important moment. The match umpire, Christian Rask, didn't stop the play but gave the point to Garin, which was a massive mistake.
Borges immediately protested because he didn't understand how his opponent won the point. The umpire explained that he couldn't replay the point because of that noise, but that's exactly what the Portuguese player argued. If that's the case, the point should have been his because Garin missed the following shot.
The Portuguese asked for the supervisor, who came and inspected the situation as the umpire kept saying that he couldn't replay the point. Borges argued that Garin missed the next shot, which was true, but the umpire couldn't recall what exactly happened.
Garin then approached but didn't really admit to much, so the call stood in the end, and it was deuce. Obviously, it was the wrong call, and it deeply affected the match. If Borges broke as he should have, then the match could have gone very differently.
Garin would ultimately close the match in two sets, and both were left confused after the match. Borges admitted that he had no idea what the umpire thought.
"I left the court without understanding the umpire’s judgment. He knows he made a mistake. It didn’t make any sense. Point shouldn’t stop because someone in the crowd shouts. He felt something coming from the crowd but we continued but he missed. Garin told me he missed because I stopped. It’s not his fault, but he doesn’t look good in this situation as well…"
Garin said after the match that he got confused after Borges stopped. He was unsure about the rules and the right call but promised to check the replay. Of course, the crowd heavily booed him after the match.
"He stopped the point. I stopped too. I don’t know if it’s my point or if we should replay it. Need to check it. I will check it later. The atmosphere was crazy after that and I’m very proud of myself. It was kind of annoying during the match…"
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