Corrado Barazzutti he knows well the sensations a tennis player can feel when he knows he has been wronged. As happened to him US Open 1977, when Jimmy Connors invaded his part of the pitch to erase a sign that would have made him lose an important point in a delicate phase of the match, Jannik Sinner he saw first the chair umpire and then the referee of the semi-final with Stefanos Tsitsipas make a serious mistake.
The Greek hit a clear double fault on the double break ball granted to his opponent in the third set, but the South Tyrolean did not stop and lost the exchange and ultimately the match. A match that would almost certainly have told a different story if the double fault had been reported.
Barazzutti and the mistake that damaged Jannik Sinner: “It didn’t stop the game”
“Connors? It was a different case from that of Sinner in Monte Carlo. During an exchange, he had thrown a backhand towards the outside, clearly outside and not seen by the line judge.
I didn’t continue the exchange and called the referee to check. Too bad Jimmy came to my side of the field and erased the sign by running over it. I was stunned, but there was no point wasting energy.
In this case Jannik did not stop the game and unfortunately if the exchange continues, it is not possible to call the referee and have the sign checked”, explained Barazzutti in an interview given to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“In the excitement of the action he didn’t have the mathematical certainty that the Greek’s serve was out. It’s curious that not even the chair umpire saw it. Perhaps neither of them was so sure. Reaction? He wouldn’t have had any reason to argue if he hadn’t having stopped the game.
These are things that can happen. Jannik is a mature player and has a character that doesn’t lead him to have exaggerated reactions. It doesn’t mean that he is compliant, he is always a great fighter on the pitch. Next time – if he has doubts – he will stop. He grows up and learns to handle every situation. Jannik is a great champion”.
