Azarenka left fuming as umpire decision assists Serena comeback

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  • Fuming: Azarenka.

    A seething Victoria Azarenka has called for the introduction of a review system that would help umpires avoid the tragic mistake that may have cost her the match on Saturday against Serena Williams.

    Azarenka was robbed by umpire Kader Nouni at the end of the second set of the third round encounter when she was facing a break/set point.

    An Azarenka groundstroke landed well inside the baseline but was called out by a line judge. Williams had already hit the ball back and it landed in the net before the call was made, which means the point should have been awarded to Azarenka. Nouni ruled that the point should be replayed and Williams didn’t choose to concede the point.

    The world No 1 won the replay point to take the set, level the match and Williams eventually beat Azarenka 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

    “I think, my honest opinion, that call was b*******, and everybody knows it. But it’s part of the game. Sometimes it happens this way. But I think it wasn’t a fair call,” said Azarenka.

    The Belarusian ex-world No 1, whose ranking had plummeted following a lengthy injury layoff, appeared to have a heated exchange with Williams after that but Azarenka explained how she blames the umpire rather than her opponent, who could have conceded the point but didn’t.

    “It’s emotions. During the match it’s difficult to react or not react in that moment. So I think that in that moment – I don’t know if it depended too much on her. You can always give your opinion, but in the end, it was the chair umpire’s call. So that was his mistake,” insisted Azarenka.

    “I think that the most important [thing] is to have a damn review, because it was so clear. That was so damn clear that you cannot make these mistakes at this level.

    “Because I’m not saying this as an excuse or saying because of that point I lost the match, that’s not what I’m saying. But in that moment, if you don’t have a review like that, it’s causing a lot of problems, really.

    “It’s always this rule that is the umpire’s call, and I don’t get it. How would you call that? She already hit the ball. The ball was touching the net and he says it’s not a late call. So for me, there definitely has to be a review on that. We have Hawk-Eye, so might as well just have that. It’s not easy for an umpire, but it’s definitely not easy on the player when you get screwed like that.”

    Azarenka and Williams have had a friendly relationship and they both said that there was no need to clear the air after the match. In fact, Azarenka gave a pair of her pink shorts to Williams, who had complimented her on her outfit earlier and was promised a sample from her friend.

    Still, a frustrated Azarenka finds herself exiting the French Open in the third round, with one less pair of shorts in her suitcase, following yet another brutal draw due to her low ranking (she is currently ranked 27).

    “What the hell did I do in my life to be so lucky to keep getting the toughest draws ever?” she asked sarcastically.

    Meanwhile, Williams’ amazing comeback, rallying from a set down and from a break down in both the second and third sets, has helped her become the first woman in the Open Era to record 50 or more wins at each of the four grand slams.

    “I put that one pretty high, because I was just really down and out in that match, and I just feel like I really zeroed in. I really focused and I really wanted to win that,” the world No 1 said.

    She dismissed her exchange with Azarenka as normal reaction between two friends who know each other really well and said of the controversial call: “He (line judge) did a late call, he called it out, he didn’t put his arm out until like five minutes later. But yeah, I mean, this is tennis. This happens all the time. I even said ‘no, don’t worry, the ball is in, we’ll just replay the point’.”

    The 19-time major champion agrees with Azarenka though that a review system would be a welcome addition in tennis. Williams takes on fellow American Sloane Stephens, who has made it to the fourth round at the French Open for a fourth consecutive year. 

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