The victory of Carlos Alcaraz against the Croatian Marin Cilic, in five sets and finished at dawn in this portion of the United States, qualified the wonderful 19-year-old Spanish player for the quarterfinals of the US Open, allowing him to sustain his chance of reaching the top of the ranking (he would be the youngest in history to do so). The meeting, at the Arthur Ashe, was of the highest hierarchy. However, in the midst of high-intensity points, there was an event linked to a technical aspect of the Balkan that drew attention and was even the trigger for different comments.
Cilic, 33 years old and currently 17th in the ranking (3rd in 2018), began to attract attention in each serve turn, because during the preparation of the impact he placed his left foot at the limit of the line background; even, even on some occasions -visually- it seemed that he was stepping on it (It is not allowed to do so, of course). Patrick McEnroe and James Blake, former tennis players turned US Open TV commentators, couldn’t either. stop focusing on Cilic’s foot and to make comments.
Many began to wonder why the technology that has replaced line judges since the pandemic was not working. The umpire of the match, the Swedish Louise Azemar Engzell, did not notice it either. Until finally the Hawk-Eye Live (Hawkeye Live), an automated system with software and a camera system, reacted. “Foot fault (foot fault)”, was heard in the stadium during a move by Cilic. In order to preserve a kind of “human nuance”, the Hawk-Eye Live has built-in recorded voices that scream “out (outside)”, “fault (missing)” or “foot fault (foot fault)”. Y different voices and languages can be used. “Foot fault”, was heard again on another Cilic serve. And till it happened once again during the almost four hours that the game lasted.
After that backlash from technology, Cilic (the only Grand Slam singles champion still standing in the tournament) stepped back a bit so that his left foot was not on the line when preparing to serve. In such a tight game losing points for this technical flaw was too much of an advantage against a rival like Alcaraz who practically shows no shortcomings.
There was some confusion as to whether Cilic was committing a foot foul. The rules are clear and state that the tennis player cannot touch the bottom line with his foot “during service movement”, but the chair umpire’s call is made only once the player has impacted the ball; the movement itself, without putting the ball in play, is not a reason for a sanction.
The serve, finally, ended up being a valuable aspect for the outcome of the match. Cilic hit 14 aces, but committed 13 double faults (3 and 4 for Alcaraz, respectively). The Croatian managed only 51% of first serves, won 71% of points with the first serve and just 48% with the second. The records of Murcia, in these three items, were higher: 72%, 62% and 60%. Alcaraz generated 18 break points for Cilic, but broke him six times (33%). Carlitos continues, dazzling the great public in Flushing Meadows.
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