Alexander Zverev fought back to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Madrid Open in a match that had a big moment of controversy.
Zverev beat Davidovich Fokina, who was the last remaining Spanish player at the Madrid Open, from a set and a break down.
This has continued Zverev’s run from winning the BMW Open in Munich, as he looks to head into Roland Garros with momentum.
While he may have been able to overcome Davidovich Fokina, Zverev was not happy with everything after a line call did not go his way.
Boris Becker gives his verdict on the Alexander Zverev line call
With Zverev looking to take the second set at 5-4 up, there was a big moment of controversy when Davidovich Fokina chased a ball down and hit a winner.
This was confirmed when electronic line calling, which is being used on clay this year, did not call the ball out.
However, Zverev was adamant with chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani that the ball was out and protested with him to come down and check the ball mark.
With the technology being brought into give definitive decisions, Layhani told Zverev that he was unable to check the mark and that the technology’s decision was final.
This prompted Zverev to take matters into his own hands, as he grabbed his phone from his bag and took a picture of the ball mark.
Zverev received some boos from the Madrid crowd for doing this, but he later posted the picture to Instagram with the caption, “Just gonna leave this one here. This was called in. Interesting call.”
This picture has received a huge reaction on social media, including from six-time major winner Boris Becker, who has recently coached Zverev.
In his reaction on X (formerly known as Twitter), Becker simply wrote, “Clearly OUT…. @MutuaMadridOpen.”
Fortunately for Zverev, this decision did not change the outcome of the match, as he ended up beating Davidovich Fokina, 2-6 7-6(3) 7-6(0).
Donna Vekic calls Alexander Zverev line call ‘insanity’
This is not the first time that an incident of this nature has happened, with Aryna Sabalenka disputing the technology in Stuttgart just over a week ago.
It seems that Becker is not the only one that agrees with Zverev, as WTA players Donna Vekic and Sorana Cirstea have also expressed their views on the situation.
Olympic silver medallist Vekic wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), “So crazy that umpires are not able to overrule this! Insanity.”
While Cirstea, who is a former world number 21, also took to Instagram to express her dissatisfaction at the electronic line calling as a whole.
In this post, the Romanian wrote, “I do not understand the need for electronic line calling on clay and the removal of line judges.
“Also I do not know how a chair umpire cannot get down from the chair anymore in order to check a mark. The electronic line system is NOT ACCURATE!”
Former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko has been openly against the technology even before it was permanently introduced to the clay court season.
However, players are going to have to get used it as Wimbledon will also use electronic line calling for the first time in 2025.
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