Zverev lost the first set to Hugo Gaston after a very questionable call.
Alexander Zverev was certain that the chair umpire made “a mistake” in not calling a double bounce late in the first set of his match against Hugo Gaston before adding that all of this could be avoided in the future by having a video technology review (VAR) for such situations.
Zverev, the top-seeded player in Hamburg, was 4-5 down to world No. 81 Gaston and he was facing a set point on his serve when he hit a short ball that appeared to touch Gaston’s court twice. But since no calls were made – the point continued – and the set ended moments later after the 23-year-old Frenchman hit a backhand pass.
Zverev wasn’t happy about the situation at all – lashing out at the umpire – demanding Gaston to admit that he returned the ball that double bounced – and even wanting to see the supervisor.
But of course, nothing could be changed without definitive proof that the ball bounced twice. However, fortunately for Zverev, he was able to mentally put the controversial moment past him and stage a 4-6 6-2 7-5 comeback.
Zverev: The umpire made a mistake but they’re human… We need VAR
“It’s a mistake from the umpire but the umpire is also a human being and allowed to make mistakes. For me, the bigger question is that we have the technology to review these kinds of things,” Zverev told Sky Sports.
“We tried it out at the United Cup and all the players loved it, you know, the video review. I’m not sure why we are not using it on tour yet. These kinds of situations can cost a player the match and it cost me the set today, which is very unfortunate.
“As I said, it’s not about the umpire. The umpire today, she’s very experienced and a very good umpire as well. Everybody has bad days and maybe today was one of them for her, which is okay. But again, on the tour I think we should do more and use the technology that we have.”
After the match and receiving some criticism and scrutiny, Gaston defended himself on social media by writing that he would admit a double bounce to Zverev if he was certain that it indeed happened.
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