After playing a sport for a few years, one may become familiar with all the rules and specificities of their sport. However, in some cases, one or two rules may not be privy to the players. We saw a case of such a situation recently at the Canadian Open. The match between Frances Tiafoe and Milos Raonic saw a rule in action that could’ve changed the outcome of the match. Even though the rule was discussed clearly with both players, Raonic was still doubtful of the actual rule.
The bout between the two players was filled with drama when it came to the first set point. During a rally, Tiafoe ran to pick the ball at the net but could not stop himself from touching the net. However, the point was still declared in favor of Tiafoe. After the match, Raonic expressed his doubts about the rule.
Milos Raonic on the rule which lost him the first set
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Raonic faced Tiafoe in the Canadian Open held in Montreal, which saw the Canadian player emerge victorious. But their match was not devoid of drama. Tiafoe led the first set and held the last point. A cross-court shot from Raonic hit the net and bounced to Tiafoe’s side. The American player was able to return the ball but crashed into the net. However, the point was given in his favor.
While annoyed at the decision, Raonic continued the match and advanced to round 2. Nonetheless, he did not forget how he lost the first set. He talked about his perturbance in the post-match interview.
“I don’t want to say too much about it. I have to see if my beliefs are right“. He further said, when referring to the doubles side of the net, “I have to check what it is bc there’s a lot of things that don’t make sense. I understand the net might not be part of the net at that point.”
Milos Raonic on controversial call on set point in Frances Tiafoe match:
“I don’t want to say too much about it. I have to see if my beliefs are right. I have to check what it is bc there’s a lot of things that don’t make sense. I understand the net might not be part of the net… pic.twitter.com/ougMI0rSFH
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 8, 2023
He additionally talked about the point and related it to the situation of a let when the point is continued, no matter which part of the net the ball hits.
“But if a ball was to hit the post & then come across as a let, I’m sure they’d play it as a let & not say the same thing. Maybe he made the right call. Maybe it was just the wrong way it was done by calling the score & then changing your mind, which kind of added to the whole drama of it. But I’ll take a look.“
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The situation was certainly an interesting one, as Raonic and Tiafoe were both perplexed about what happened.
How Frances Tiafoe took the set point
Tiafoe ran like the wind when he tried to return the shot, which had landed close to the net. He gave a fantastic return but crashed into the net. The point was still given in his favor regardless. As the umpire explained to the two players, the part of the net Tiafoe touched was beyond the singles line of the court. Therefore, the rule of foul after net touch does not apply to the game.
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Regardless of the result of the first match, Raonic advanced to the second round. Now, he will face Taro Daniel for a shot at round 3.
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