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Tiafoe Robbed Of Key Point vs Tabilo In Montreal
2 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Bios
In one of the most bizarre points of the year, Frances Tiafoe and Alejandro Tabilo were locked in on a baseline rally at 54 Tabilo, 30-all.
In the middle of the rally Tabilo appeared to hit a forehand cross court clearly long but no call from the chair umpire Mohammad Layhani was made and the two continue to play, Tiafoe’s backhands vs Tabilo’s lefty forehand. Then four shots later, suddenly Layhani stopped the point and said to replay the point because there was a “technical issue” as one of Tabilo’s shots was out but Hawkeye failed to call it. Layhani also somehow failed to notice the out ball, which was clearly out by about four inches.
So Tabilo won the next two points to win the set 64 and then cruised to a 62 second set victory.
Layhani’s mistake was replaying the point that should have been won by Tiafoe due to Tabilo’s out ball.
Layhani is normally a very reliable and honorable chair umpire who has worked many Grand Slam finals however this misjudgement incident is an unforgettable blemish on his reputation. Any tennis player knows an “out” ball is the end of the point and does not merit a replay.
27 year old Tabilo is ranked 21 in the world right now while 26 year old Tiafoe is ranked 27. Tiafoe won the previous clash vs the Canadian 64 64 last year in Indian Wells. Tiafoe also beat Tabilo at 2020 Newport Beach Challenger 64 62.
Alejandro Tabilo · Frances Tiafoe · Montreal Masters
Cory · August 9, 2024 at 4:55 pm
I can’t find a replay of the clip… why didn’t Tiafoe demand the umpire use common sense – okay, the call came late, so the call transcends anything that happens afterwards… if the ball was out as determined by the a.i., why then would the point be replayed? There are no lets on a.i.-judged courts without line judges since the only time a let would ever be called is on an umpire overrule which wouldn’t happen since the umpire would never overrule a.i. I just don’t get it why Tiafoe didn’t totally stop the paradde and demand proper adjudication.
Scoop Malinowski · August 9, 2024 at 6:27 pm
Cory good questions. I guess it shows Tiafoe is not smart enough to really understand the injustice that robbed him of a critical point and he let it fly by his head. He should have had BP for 55. Tiafoe’s head has always been a question mark. Dismissing Ferreira as coach and now this bonehead mishap.