Life without Hawk-Eye? It can be brutal… Just ask Karen Khachanov, who was many times frustrated on Friday as he saw a lead evaporate and eventually lost to Dan Evans in Antwerp, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4.
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday October 23, 2020
Life without Hawk-Eye? It can be brutal… Just ask Karen Khachanov, who was many times frustrated on Friday as he saw a lead evaporate and eventually lost to Dan Evans in Antwerp, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4.
It was a particularly trying day for umpire Adel Nour, who clearly botched an overrule in the first set and took a lot of heat from Khachanov from that point on.
It’s worth mentioning that the official reason the European Open isn’t using Hawk-Eye this season isn’t known, but it’s likely (definitely?) due to financial strain caused by the coronavirus.
Let’s face it: It’s expensive. And in the current enviroment with restrictions on live audiences that lead to revenue shortfalls and trimmed-down prize money, some expenses need to be spared.
Surely Nour and the players are happy to have work, but this is an example of how bad things can go without Hawk-Eye. Things got completely crazy at the end of the second set when Evans hit a forehand winner at 7-7 in the tiebreaker that Khachanov was certain had gone wide. Perhaps the Russian had developed some trust issues after the horrible overrule had made at 4-2 in the first set, but by that point it didn’t seem to matter.
This one was not going to end well.
Evans took the set and Khachanov pulled what is now officially known as a “Karolina Pliskova” and put his right boot into the Emirates sign at the net before hacking away at Nour’s chair before storming off the court.
He would return to chat with Nour momentarily, but he was not able to pull his tennis together to avoid going down to Evans.
In the end it’s a lesson in psychology. The Hawk-Eye system isn’t perfect, but it does add clarity to the situation and let’s players accept the calls they’re given and move on. They believe they are being treated fairly and that’s that.
Without Hawk-Eye, as we saw today, insecurity and mistrust seeps in and the potential for a catastrophic blowup exists.
Are we not entertained?