Featured Image Credit: Tennis TV
Topics: Tennis
James Taylor
An umpire made an 'extraordinary' mistake in the opening round of the Hellenic Championship in Athens, leaving commentators and fans stunned.
Miomir Kecmanovic defeated Kamil Majchrzak 7-6, 7-6 to reach the round of 16 in Greece, where he will face the third seed Luciano Darderi.
However, it was not his victory that drew attention, but an astonishing error that saw a point awarded to the wrong player.
With the opening set finally poised at 6-5 to Kecmanovic, the Serb was serving, but trailing 30-40 in the game.
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His serve was comfortably returned by Majchrzak before Kecmanovic's backhand appeared to land well inside the tramlines.
However, instead of Majchrzak taking the game, Kecmanovic was awarded the point.
The Hawk-Eye technology failed to make the call that the ball was out, while the umpire remained silent.
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Surprisingly, there were also no objections from Majchrzak, who was denied a break of serve by the decision.
The incident caused astonishment among tennis commentators around the world.
Portuguese tennis commentator Jose Morgado wrote on X: "Shocking umpire mistake in Athens.
"Serving at 30-40, Kecmanovic misses a backhand by 50cm and umpire messed up the score and calls deuce. Everybody looked confused but nobody said anything. Absurd.
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"Kecmanovic got broken anyway points after, which was good."
That confusion was shared by American tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg, who also posted on X.
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He wrote: "Watched replay of this match to see what unfolded, and sure enough, they gave Kecmanovic the point and the game played on, to the confusion of commentators.
"Kecmanovic looked like he thought he’d lost the game, too, but the ball kids gave him balls to keep serving and he did."
Although the decision ultimately had minimal impact, as Majchrzak still broke Kecmanovic's serve in that game, it was certainly one of the strangest moments of the tennis season.
Ricky Damon, who runs a tennis blog called The Grandstand, was also vocal on social media.
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"One of the most bizarre things I have seen in a while," he said.
"Kecmanovic hits a shot 3 feet out, gets awarded the point, Majchrzak barely argues at all, announcers say that Kec lost the game and then make no mention at all that the game inexplicably continues."
This year's Hellenic Championship is the inaugural edition of the ATP 250 Event, replacing the Belgrade Open on the calendar.
It is being played on indoor hardcourts at the OAKA Basketball Arena, which hosted events at the 2004 Olympics.