David Goffin has just lost a horrendous semi-final against Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo. The Belgian was leading the Mallorcan 3-2 in a real dogfight. David would have won a crucial 6th game if the chair umpire didn’t overrule a call that was correct. In fact, Rafa blasted a forehand that was almost 30 cm long, but Cedric Mourier called it in picking a completely different mark. Goffin had to repeat the point (so no 4-2 for him), he lost the service, he got mad, and he lost the match 6-3 6-1. To add insult to injury, the Hawkeye (that is not used on clay) showed that the overrule was ridiculously wrong.
Why they do not use the Hawkeye on clay
One year ago, it was Peter Irwin, a member of the Hawkeye team, that gave his explanation during an interview with The New York Times.
“One thing that’s integral to our system is we measure the court, but we also measure the undulations in the ground,” Irwin commented “So when you play on clay. Obviously, the ground is constantly changing, so that would require a lot more work from our side. We would constantly have to recalibrate the system if it were to be used for officiating.
On a hard court, we do it once at the start of the tournament because the surface doesn’t change. On grass, we do constantly calibrate throughout, but clay is just a lot more.”
Time to find a solution?
