Taylor Fritz was one of many shock early exits from the Cincinnati Open this week, losing to fellow American Brandon Nakashima in straight sets.
However, whilst the youngster performed admirably to dump out the world number 12, his result has been overshadowed by a mid-match flashpoint, once again involving the chair umpire.
After all, Fritz argued with the umpire at length following a hugely controversial moment where, despite Nakashima’s shot going considerably long, no automatic call came.
The point went on for a few more strikes before the umpire called a stop to it, only to then call a let rather than handing the 2022 Indian Wells champion the rightful point.
Tennis fans react to Taylor Fritz controversy
Naturally, tennis fans have rushed to defend Taylor Fritz, furious with his treatment.
This is not the first time that we have seen an umpire steal the headlines with an abysmal call, and going on recent form, it will not be the last either.
One fan even commented: ‘This is the same umpire who ejected Shapovalov on match point against Ben Shelton. He’s the worst.’
Another supporter echoed the earlier sentiment: ‘“I thought it was out too, but I can’t do that”. What are you being paid for then buddy? Watching tennis on the best seat in the stadium?’
A tennis chair umpire steals the show again
It is getting exhausting now with just how often the chair umpire manages to steal the spotlight.
Unfortunately, it has been a miserable theme of this entire calendar year, with the Cincinnati Open not exempt from this frustration.
Coco Gauff argued with one umpire in Dubai, before suffering at Roland Garros too. Gauff was then left in tears at the Olympics after another questionable call she perceived to be wrong.
Elsewhere, Denis Shapovalov was recently defaulted, much to his and the wider tennis world’s shock, with Daniil Medvedev another high-profile name to complain about the standard of umpires back in Monte-Carlo, and again here.
It is seemingly every other tournament that we are subject to a chair umpire power trip which results in a player suffering at their hands.
If there is electronic certification, the need for these officials becomes non-existent. Especially when they cannot overrule a call should there be a fault in the system.
This particular example likely did not have a monumental impact on the result of the match, but it so often can, and these results are far too important, both mentally and financially, for factors like the umpire to have such a big impact.
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