Bad line calls a thing of the past . maybe

Musthofid and Bruce Emond ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Nusa Dua, Bali   |  Thu, 11/05/2009 11:52 AM  |  Headlines

After a shot from Aravane Rezai landed agonizing close to the baseline, Sabine Lisicki put her hand up to ask for help.

It was not for divine intervention, but for Hawk-Eye, the video line call system that is now a familiar part of the tennis circuit. When a line call is called into question, Hawk-Eye is called upon to put doubts at rest.

The crowd oohed and aahed as the video image closed in on the line, Lisicki watched intently, along with the spectators and the line judge. The monitor showed the ball was in, even though the German 4th seed continued to shake her head in protest and mutter that it was out.

After she lost the match at the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, that call continued to rankle at the postmatch press conference. "It was out, at least it was to me," she said with a laugh.

For Lisicki and other young players, Hawk-Eye and the Challenge system are part of the modern game of tennis. Introduced in 2007 at the Australian Open, the system allows players to make three challenges in each set. While humans can make errors in their line calls and judgments, Hawk-Eye - a high-speed camera that visually tracks the path of the ball and transfers the 3D image to the courtside monitor - is supposed to be infallible.

In fact, on several occasions, Lisicki used the Challenge to her advantage, including when leading 5-1 in the first set, after there was an outcall on her service.

Not everybody was enthusiastic when it was proposed several years ago. Tennis purists and some players, including Swiss ace Roger Federer, said it would alter the flow of a match.

Proponents argued that it would do away with the notoriously bad calls of the past, and was already effectively used in cricket. The call that many believe was responsible for the introduction of the Challenge system in tennis did not have anything to do with the pleadings of John McEnroe about bad line calls, but occurred on a sweltering night in New York City.

During the 2004 US Open semifinal matchup between Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati, Williams hit a backhand down the line that seemed clearly in to spectators and the TV audience at home, able to watch it in replay. However, it was called out, and Capriati went on to overcome her increasingly bewildered opponent.

In Bali, the system came into play once again in the second match of the day between Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer and Kimiko Date-Krumm.

As Wickmayer fought back to 2-3 in the second set, her shot landed close to the baseline, and the Japanese parried a return out. But Date-Krumm pointed at the baseline and looked up at the umpire, who took it to mean she wanted to challenge.

The rules state that a player must stop playing immediately during a rally if she wishes to challenge.

"She played it. She hit the ball," Wickmayer, at 20 the youngest among the 12 contenders in the US$600,000 tournament, shouted.

She did not have to protest too long or too loudly: Hawk-Eye showed her ball was indeed in, and she went on to win.

"She did it late. I think she was playing the point before asking *to Challenge*," Wickmayer said later.

But she accepts Hawk-Eye's decisions. "This kind of thing happens quite often. If you see the ball out, you should ask. Sometimes, I discuss it with the umpire. Everyone makes mistakes. If I'm wrong, I accept it."

Date-Krumm returned to the Tour last year after retiring 12 years ago, when there was no opportunity to overturn the umpire's decision. She sees the pluses and minuses of the Challenge system.

From her career as a tennis commentator for Japanese TV, Date-Krumm also saw how the system can be used as a stalling tactic.

"That happens when a player challenges on match point, but they actually know the ball is in, or when it takes time, everybody is watching the screen like it's a DVD, and then the players have to go back to playing," she said.

She notes that it takes the doubt out of trusting other people's decisions and believing they are wrong.

"Umpires are human, so they can make mistakes, and it's good to have the Challenge," said the 39-year-old.

Perhaps she should tell that to Sabine Lisicki.

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