Andrey Rublev drawn into two big line call controversies at Madrid Open

Oli Dickson Jefford
Andrey Rublev Madrid Open
Andrey Rublev was drawn into two line call controversies at the Madrid Open

Andrey Rublev was the latest player drawn into line call controversy at the Madrid Open after two contentious calls against him in his round three clash.

The world No 8 was left incensed after umpire Adel Nour made controversial calls in both the first and second sets, which both went against Rublev in his contest against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The first of the two incidents came at a potentially crucial juncture of the opening set, with Davidovich Fokina serving at 4-4, 30-30.

The Spaniard hit a backhand that was initially called long almost instantly, with replays appearing to show that the call came before Rublev got a play on the ball.

However, after the call was overturned, Nour handed the point to 27th seed Davidovich Fokina, deeming that Rublev’s shot – which went out – had come before the call from the line judge.

Rublev was left bewildered by the decision and hotly contested the call, though was ultimately able to take the first set on the tiebreak.

But that was not the first clash between the seventh seed and Nour, with a similar incident coming in the second set.

Returning at 4-4, Rublev hit a shot that was initially called out, though electronic line technology later showed that it did land in.

Though it appeared that Davidovich Fokina would not have had a significant play on the ball, umpire Nour this time ordered for the point to be replayed instead of handing it to the Russian.

This led to further protestations from Rublev, though there was little he could do to overturn Nour’s decision.

Even this was not the last moment of line call drama in the match, with Davidovich Fokina incorrectly challenging a call down break point – conceding the game, and ultimately the match, to Rublev, who won 7-6(10), 6-4.

Both the initial calls against Rublev – which appeared to be unfair – have not been the first controversies this weekend, with Rafael Nadal brought into a similar incident yesterday.

Nadal clashed with umpire Fergus Murphy and eventually called the on-court supervisor after believing he had marked a shot from Alex de Minaur long, only to discover he had to officially challenge the point.

These latest incidents will likely fuel further debate about what challenge system should be used, and whether there is a need for video replays in tennis.

WATCH: Rafael Nadal clashes with umpire after huge line call controversy in Madrid

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