JOHN MCENROE and Andrew Castle fiercely debated electronic line calling following some debatable decisions at Wimbledon.
Sonay Kartal’s exit on Sunday was shrouded in controversy, after it later emerged that the Hawk Eye system, responsible for the line calls, was down for a game.
This led to a point being replayed despite Kartal’s shot clearly landing out – ultimately costing Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova a game during the first set.
Wimbledon scrapped line judges ahead of this year’s tournament, instead fully relying on technology.
Previously, players could use the Hawk Eye system to challenge the line judges’ decisions.
Debating the issue while live on the BBC, McEnroe – renowned for his umpire bust-ups during his career – said: “I’m the perfect guy to ask.
“My hair is pretty white at this stage and I haven’t got much left, I might have a little more if it wasn’t for all of those line judges blowing those calls.
“The thing is, it needs to be right. I think they [hawk-eye] have said it’s plus or minus 3mm but is that for sure? Who’s done the testing?”
Long-time BBC commentator Castle, 61, pointed out that players had few complaints about the old challenge system, which also relied on the same tech.
McEnroe, 66, replied: “If it’s accurate I’m all for it.”
At this point, Castle interjected: “It is accurate. It’s only people that lose that say, ‘I didn’t think that was right.’
“You know, come on. Maybe on clay it’s different and maybe it’s still not perfect.”
Unconvinced, McEnroe said: “If you say so.”
Despite still beating Kartal, Pavlyuchenkova sensationally claimed that decision-makers had shown bias towards home player Kartal.
The Russian, 34, said on court: “How can you prove it? Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me.”
In her subsequent press conference, the tour veteran added: “I expected, so maybe they call in or out. Instead they just said replay.
“I don’t know if it’s something to do because she’s local.”
Pavlyuchenkova will next face No13 seed Amanda Anisimova for a place in the semi-finals.
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