Tennis: Instant replay means end to line disputes

Twenty-five years after John McEnroe yelled at an umpire 'you cannot be serious, that ball was on the line... chalk flew up!', such tirades could become a thing of the past when Instant Replay makes its Grand Slam tennis debut at the US Open next week.

McEnroe's frequent outbursts may have made a case for introducing the technology decades ago.

But it was a controversial call during the 2004 US Open quarterfinal between Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati which propelled the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to try an eliminate human error from officiating.

The system uses Hawkeye technology -- available to television viewers for several years -- as an on-court officiating tool.

Electronic line-calling can measure ball position to within 3mm using eight court cameras. Players have up to three challenges per set but lose a challenge if they incorrectly question a call.

With the replay flashed simultaneously to the umpire and on the giant scoreboards, courtside fans can follow the drama as it unfolds.

Launched on the regular tour in March at the Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami, many believe Instant Replay is the greatest innovation introduced to the sport since tiebreaks were implemented in the early 1970s.

On its debut outing, a total of 161 calls were challenged during the men's and women's combined event. With 53 calls overturned, it highlighted the rate of human error that usually takes place during the course of a tournament.

"With the speed and power of today's game, the time has come for tennis to benefit from new technology, while adding to the fan experience," Arlen Kantarian, chief executive for professional tennis at the USTA, said in March.

"This new breakthrough will improve line calls for players, while adding excitement and intrigue for fans and TV viewers."

It is therefore not surprising that many players back the system, including those who thrived on having angry exchanges with umpires.

"Hawkeye's great," said McEnroe, who was one of the first players to trial the system at the Royal Albert Hall last year during the Champions Tour's Masters event.

"I hate to be in the position of defending umpires but not having to worry about calls is a pretty big thing for us.

"People always say to me 'well you'd have no one to yell at John!'. And my answer to that is: 'I would find someone in the crowd'!"

But not everyone is ready to embrace the system.

"I have a very strong opinion about it. I'm absolutely against it," said world No 1 Roger Federer, who believes the vast amounts of money invested in the technology can be better spent elsewhere.

McEnroe's one-time doubles partner, Michael Stich, highlighted the downside of the innovation.

"When McEnroe and (Jimmy) Connors played ... they got the crowd involved because ... they yelled at the chair umpire," said the 1991 Wimbledon champion, who also plays on the Seniors Tour.

"(If Instant Replay had been around in 1981) we would never have heard McEnroe saying 'you cannot be serious'.

"The system takes something out of the game. We are all humans and we all make mistakes."

Love it or loathe it, the practice will no doubt become a permanent feature in professional matches as tennis joins a long list of sports to have adopted Instant Replay.

When the third umpire was introduced in cricket in the early 1990s, traditionalists were up in arms about using television technology to determine on-field decisions. More than a decade later it has become an integral part of the sport.

Among those keeping a close eye on proceedings at Flushing Meadows will be officials at the Australian Open, the next major on the tennis calendar.

"We are looking at the potential for 2007 and we will monitor the US Open before making a decision," a Tennis Australia spokesman said.

"It's something we see coming into the sport very soon."

- REUTERS