Latest news with #Khachanov
Independent Singapore
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
'That's questionable why this is happening'—More line-call controversies at Wimbledon spark debate over accuracy of AI systems
Wimbledon's electronic line-calling system malfunctioned and caused a point to be replayed during the quarter-final match between Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov. This season, the new AI technology was considered reliable enough to replace traditional line judges. However, due to errors that were occurring at a few matches, some athletes have raised doubts about the system's accuracy. During the match between Fritz and Khachanov, a 'fault' arose in the middle of a rally during the fourth set. Umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell halted the play and it surprised the crowd. The umpire then made a phone call to fix the issue and then told everyone on Court One that the point would be replayed. The umpire stated: ' Ladies and gentlemen, we will replay the point due to a malfunction… The system is now working.' Since the incident happened in the middle of a rally and no player was holding on to any advantage, Fritz nor Khachanov did not raise any complaints. Athlete's opinions on the line-calling system Khachanov, who lost the match in four sets, admitted that he had to accept the fault. However, he also said that he does not support the new system. The athlete stated: 'I'm more for line umpires, to be honest. I don't know. You feel a little bit [like the] court is too big, too alone without line umpires… At the same time it looks like AI and electronic line calls has to be very precise and no mistakes, but we've seen a couple. That's questionable why this is happening. Is it just like error of the machine or what's the reason?' He added: 'Like today I think there were a few calls. I don't know, very questionable if it's really touching the line or not. At the same time during one point, the machine called it just out during the rally. Sometimes it's scary to let machines do what they want, you know.' On the other hand, Fritz agrees that the electronic line calling system is an improved method compared to relying on line judges. He said: 'There's going to be some issues here and there… To be honest, I still think it's much better to just have the electronic line calling calling the lines as opposed to the umpires because I do like not having to think about challenging calls in the middle of points.' 'I do like that we don't have to argue about calls and all this stuff. The ball gets called, and we know, and that's it. I think it's a better system,' the athlete added. The biggest mistake happened when the AI was accidentally turned off for one game during Sonay Kartal's match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. During this match, the Hawk-Eye system failed to track the ball, and the point needed to be replayed despite the TV footage clearly showing the ball was far out. Former British No. 1 Tim Henman, a member of the AELTC committee, said the technology performs well when it is functioning properly. He also said that the mistake in the Kartal vs. Pavlyuchenkova's match was completely unrelated to players raising concerns about the accuracy of the calls. Henman stated: 'This is technology that's been around for a long, long time… It's a Hawk Eye version when we had line judges. So this is an enhanced version. So is the technology accurate? Absolutely, 100%… So then when you move to the Sonay Kartal element, and there's been a statement from the club, that's human error, that is someone that has un-clicked a box, and so therefore, the system is deactivated.' 'So if it's not activated, it's not going to work, and it didn't work. So they're two totally separate situations,' he said.
Hindustan Times
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Wimbledon drama angers Taylor Fritz as umpire makes emergency call; organisers blame ball boy for chaos
Taylor Fritz found himself at the centre of yet another Wimbledon controversy during his quarterfinal win over Karen Khachanov on Court 1 on Tuesday. Just days after being frustrated by the curfew rules, the American was left fuming again—this time due to a glitch in the Electronic Line Calling (ELC) system, which has already sparked debate throughout the tournament. Chair umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell was eventually forced to stop play and order a replay of the point. Taylor Fritz of the U.S. reacts during the men's singles quarter final match against Karen Khachanov of Russia at the Wimbledon(AP) The incident occurred in the first game of the fourth set, with Fritz leading 6-3, 6-4, 1-6. As Khachanov prepared to hit a forehand—the fourth shot of the rally—the ELC system suddenly blared a "Fault" call, disrupting the point. Fritz had missed his first serve at 15-0, and while the system correctly called it a fault, the second serve landed in, and three shots were played before the erroneous interruption occurred. "What was that?" BBC commentator Todd Woodbridge said. Co-commentator John Lloyd chimed in: "The electronic line system has jumped the gun because that serve wasn't 121mph, that was the second serve." The chair umpire made an emergency phone call to reset the system as the cameras caught Fritz visibly frustrated owing to the delay. The umpire then announced to the crowd: "Ladies and gentlemen, we will replay the last point due to a malfunction. The system is now working." Khachanov won the replayed point and broke Fritz's serve. But the American bounced back quickly to secure a win in a tiebreak and make the semifinals, where he will take on two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. The All England Club later explained that due to the movement of the ball boy at the time of Fritz's second serve, the ELC did not start and hence considered his forehand to be the serve, which went over the service line, and hence called out. A spokesperson said: "The player's service motion began while the BBG was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn't recognise the start of the point. As such the Chair Umpire instructed the point be replayed." Khachanov, who lost the match, said in the post-match presser that he was not in favour of the new technology which was introduced at Wimbledon this year. He said: "I'm more for line umpires, to be honest. I don't know. You feel a little bit [like the] court is too big, too alone without line umpires. At the same time it looks like AI and electronic line calls has to be very precise and no mistakes, but we've seen a couple. That's questionable why this is happening. Is it just like error of the machine or what's the reason? Like today I think there were a few calls. I don't know, very questionable if it's really touching the line or not. At the same time during one point, the machine called it just out during the rally. Sometimes it's scary to let machines do what they want, you know." Fritz spoke much on the same line, as he backed having line judges over the ELC. "There's going to be some issues here and there," said the fifth seed. "To be honest, I still think it's much better to just have the electronic line calling calling the lines as opposed to the umpires because I do like not having to think about challenging calls in the middle of points. "I do like that we don't have to argue about calls and all this stuff. The ball gets called, and we know, and that's it. I think it's a better system."
South Wales Argus
08-07-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Taylor Fritz overcomes medical timeout and rogue tech to reach Wimbledon semis
In a big-hitting battle between the two tallest players to reach the last eight, 6ft 5ins Fritz overcame a third-set wobble, a medical timeout and a rogue line call to triumph 6-3 6-4 1-6 7-6 (4) against 6ft 6ins Khachanov. The American will take on back-to-back champion Carlos Alcaraz for a place in Sunday's final. 'I'm feeling great to get through it,' Fritz said in his on-court interview. 'The match was going so well for me for two sets. I've never had a match really just flip so quickly, so I'm really happy with how I came back in the fourth set and got it done. 'I felt I couldn't miss and then all of sudden I'm making a ton of mistakes. 'Momentum was definitely not going to be on my side going into a fifth.' In another embarrassing episode for tournament organisers, Wimbledon's faltering electronic line calling system suffered a further malfunction during the quarter-final. Karen Khachanov threatened to force a fifth set (John Walton/PA) 'Fault' was incorrectly called by the technology in the opening game of the fourth set when a Fritz backhand landed well inside the baseline. With the system still tracking the initial serve, chair umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell ordered the point be replayed. Khachanov had won the previous two meetings between the pair but those victories came three months apart more than five years ago when he was the higher-ranked player. Fritz has been a US Open finalist since then and demonstrated his prowess on grass with three Eastbourne titles. A break of serve in game two paved the way for the Californian to cruise to the opening set in 33 minutes. "I'm really happy with how I've turned my career around." After losing in the #Wimbledon QF twice, Taylor Fritz is now in his first semi-final at SW19 👏 — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025 Khachanov barely had sniff on his opponent's serve and, after surviving four break points earlier in the set, he crucially failed to hold in game nine as Fritz won 12 points in a row to move 2-0 in front. With the finish line coming into view, Fritz began to waver. Underdog Khachanov finally broke in game two of set three and then sparked hope of a fightback by promptly repeating the feat en route to emphatically halving his deficit. Fritz underwent treatment on his right foot ahead of the fourth set, which began in farcical fashion due to the inaccurate line call. A decider then looked on the cards when Khachanov broke immediately as his rival continued to make mistakes. Taylor's Triumphant 😤 Fritz wins in four and awaits the winner of Alcaraz and Norrie in the SF 👀#Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025 But Fritz regained his poise to hit back in game four before holding his nerve in the tie-break, which he secured with a smash, leading to a roar of delight, mixed with relief. 'Having played the quarter-finals here twice and lost in five (sets) twice, I don't think I could've taken another one,' he said. The 27-year-old also allayed fears about the severity of his foot issue. 'It's totally fine, it's pretty common, a lot of players do this tape job so your foot doesn't get irritated,' he said. 'I think I ripped it off at some point in the second so I just needed to get it re-done.'
South Wales Guardian
08-07-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Taylor Fritz overcomes medical timeout and rogue tech to reach Wimbledon semis
In a big-hitting battle between the two tallest players to reach the last eight, 6ft 5ins Fritz overcame a third-set wobble, a medical timeout and a rogue line call to triumph 6-3 6-4 1-6 7-6 (4) against 6ft 6ins Khachanov. The American will take on back-to-back champion Carlos Alcaraz for a place in Sunday's final. Soaking it all in 🙌#Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025 'I'm feeling great to get through it,' Fritz said in his on-court interview. 'The match was going so well for me for two sets. I've never had a match really just flip so quickly, so I'm really happy with how I came back in the fourth set and got it done. 'I felt I couldn't miss and then all of sudden I'm making a ton of mistakes. 'Momentum was definitely not going to be on my side going into a fifth.' In another embarrassing episode for tournament organisers, Wimbledon's faltering electronic line calling system suffered a further malfunction during the quarter-final. 'Fault' was incorrectly called by the technology in the opening game of the fourth set when a Fritz backhand landed well inside the baseline. With the system still tracking the initial serve, chair umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell ordered the point be replayed. Khachanov had won the previous two meetings between the pair but those victories came three months apart more than five years ago when he was the higher-ranked player. Fritz has been a US Open finalist since then and demonstrated his prowess on grass with three Eastbourne titles. A break of serve in game two paved the way for the Californian to cruise to the opening set in 33 minutes. "I'm really happy with how I've turned my career around." After losing in the #Wimbledon QF twice, Taylor Fritz is now in his first semi-final at SW19 👏 — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025 Khachanov barely had sniff on his opponent's serve and, after surviving four break points earlier in the set, he crucially failed to hold in game nine as Fritz won 12 points in a row to move 2-0 in front. With the finish line coming into view, Fritz began to waver. Underdog Khachanov finally broke in game two of set three and then sparked hope of a fightback by promptly repeating the feat en route to emphatically halving his deficit. Fritz underwent treatment on his right foot ahead of the fourth set, which began in farcical fashion due to the inaccurate line call. A decider then looked on the cards when Khachanov broke immediately as his rival continued to make mistakes. Taylor's Triumphant 😤 Fritz wins in four and awaits the winner of Alcaraz and Norrie in the SF 👀#Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025 But Fritz regained his poise to hit back in game four before holding his nerve in the tie-break, which he secured with a smash, leading to a roar of delight, mixed with relief. 'Having played the quarter-finals here twice and lost in five (sets) twice, I don't think I could've taken another one,' he said. The 27-year-old also allayed fears about the severity of his foot issue. 'It's totally fine, it's pretty common, a lot of players do this tape job so your foot doesn't get irritated,' he said. 'I think I ripped it off at some point in the second so I just needed to get it re-done.'
Powys County Times
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Taylor Fritz overcomes medical timeout and rogue tech to reach Wimbledon semis
World number five Taylor Fritz powered his way into a maiden Wimbledon semi-final by winning a colossal Court One clash with Russian 17th seed Karen Khachanov. In a big-hitting battle between the two tallest players to reach the last eight, 6ft 5ins Fritz overcame a third-set wobble, a medical timeout and a rogue line call to triumph 6-3 6-4 1-6 7-6 (4) against 6ft 6ins Khachanov. The American will take on back-to-back champion Carlos Alcaraz for a place in Sunday's final. Soaking it all in 🙌 #Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025 'I'm feeling great to get through it,' Fritz said in his on-court interview. 'The match was going so well for me for two sets. I've never had a match really just flip so quickly, so I'm really happy with how I came back in the fourth set and got it done. 'I felt I couldn't miss and then all of sudden I'm making a ton of mistakes. 'Momentum was definitely not going to be on my side going into a fifth.' In another embarrassing episode for tournament organisers, Wimbledon's faltering electronic line calling system suffered a further malfunction during the quarter-final. 'Fault' was incorrectly called by the technology in the opening game of the fourth set when a Fritz backhand landed well inside the baseline. With the system still tracking the initial serve, chair umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell ordered the point be replayed. Khachanov had won the previous two meetings between the pair but those victories came three months apart more than five years ago when he was the higher-ranked player. Fritz has been a US Open finalist since then and demonstrated his prowess on grass with three Eastbourne titles. A break of serve in game two paved the way for the Californian to cruise to the opening set in 33 minutes. "I'm really happy with how I've turned my career around." After losing in the #Wimbledon QF twice, Taylor Fritz is now in his first semi-final at SW19 👏 — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025 Khachanov barely had sniff on his opponent's serve and, after surviving four break points earlier in the set, he crucially failed to hold in game nine as Fritz won 12 points in a row to move 2-0 in front. With the finish line coming into view, Fritz began to waver. Underdog Khachanov finally broke in game two of set three and then sparked hope of a fightback by promptly repeating the feat en route to emphatically halving his deficit. Fritz underwent treatment on his right foot ahead of the fourth set, which began in farcical fashion due to the inaccurate line call. A decider then looked on the cards when Khachanov broke immediately as his rival continued to make mistakes. Taylor's Triumphant 😤 Fritz wins in four and awaits the winner of Alcaraz and Norrie in the SF 👀 #Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025 But Fritz regained his poise to hit back in game four before holding his nerve in the tie-break, which he secured with a smash, leading to a roar of delight, mixed with relief. 'Having played the quarter-finals here twice and lost in five (sets) twice, I don't think I could've taken another one,' he said. The 27-year-old also allayed fears about the severity of his foot issue. 'It's totally fine, it's pretty common, a lot of players do this tape job so your foot doesn't get irritated,' he said. 'I think I ripped it off at some point in the second so I just needed to get it re-done.'
