Jack Draper’s victory against Felix Auger-Aliassime was marred by a major controversy over the match point. Now tennis legend Novak Djokovic is joining the debate and calling for changes in tennis.

Draper secured a place in the last eight of the Cincinnati Open by coming from behind to defeat Canadian Auger-Aliassime 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

The match ended in a controversy over the ball. Auger-Aliassime argued that the ball first hit the frame of Draper’s racket and then the ground on match point.

It was clear from the television replays that Draper should not have been awarded the point, and Auger-Aliassime called the tournament referee onto the field to make his point.

“Jack, you know,” he said before turning to the referee, “what you just did is horrific. Didn’t you see the ball hit the ground?”

“It bounced off the string and flew over?” the referee replied.

“No, no, no, on the floor,” said Auger-Aliassime.

“Mate. Terrible decision but every player knows you know exactly where you hit it hahaha ridiculous stuff,” the Australian wrote on X.

Auger-Aliassime continued to tell the referee: “What you just did is appalling. Didn’t you see the ball hit the ground? He slammed it on the ground! We’re going to leave here, this will be seen everywhere and it will look ridiculous.”

He added: “I ask you again: If you are 100 percent sure that you are not leaving here and that you do not have the slightest doubt that that was a clean volley winner, then I will shake his hand immediately and the game will be over.”

Referee Greg Allensworth acknowledged that his decision to award the point to Draper may have been wrong. The Briton suggested the point should be replayed after claiming he had “looked at Felix” and did not know whether he had hit the ball into the ground.

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From the trajectory of the ball as it bounced off his racket, Allensworth should have realised that he had been pushed into the ground, but after a long debate on the pitch, the point went to the Briton.

Now 24-time Grand Slam legend Djokovic has joined the debate with a surprising post on his X-account.

Djokovic rarely engages in controversial tennis debates on his social media platforms, but he felt the need to voice his opinion and call on the ATP Tour to use technology to ensure that such controversies never arise again.

“It is embarrassing that we do not have a video replay of such situations on the court,” Djokovic wrote.

“What’s even more ridiculous is that we don’t have a rule that allows referees to change the original decision based on video review off the field of play! Anyone watching on TV will see what happened on the replay, but the players on the field are left in the dark and unaware of the outcome.

“We have Hawkeye for line calls, we live in the technologically advanced 21st century! Please, dear guests, make sure this nonsense never happens again!”

Djokovic’s comments came after a number of big names voiced their opinions on the incident. 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios said Draper “knew exactly what happened” and now Tsistipas, who lost to Draper in the previous round in Cincinnati, left a message on his X account claiming: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shot like that.”

Tsistipas received a lot of heated reactions to his “X” post, with many critics saying that Draper knew what he had done and should have restated his position.

Andy Roddick also questioned Draper’s claim that he didn’t know if he hit the ball into the ground, writing on X: “I feel like every time I hit a ball straight into the ground, I knew I hit it straight into the ground. When you get the technique down, you just have to get the decision right. Arguing about that takes longer.”

Draper insisted he was not responsible for the controversy, saying: “I was shocked by the pass and too busy watching it. I looked at the referee to see if he had called a double rebound, but he didn’t say so. I couldn’t make that decision myself.”

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