John McEnroe, commentating for the BBC, gave an instant verdict on a bizarre moment during the Wimbledon quarter-final between Jan-Lennard Struff and Jannik Sinner. Top seed Sinner had break point on the Struff serve early in the second set when a spare ball fell out of the German's pocket mid-rally. The umpire called a let, allowing Struff another chance to keep himself in the game.
McEnroe Explains the Rule
The umpire has discretion to award a point to a player's opponent if they think the offence was deliberate, but Struff got a reprieve on this occasion. "The ball fell out of his pocket," commentator John McEnroe said. "First [time it happens] they play a let then second time he loses the point." A replay was subsequently shown, with the American continuing: "Let's see if he did it on purpose... no". He then joked: "It's a long rally! I need a break here. Whoops. I'm probably not going to win this point!'"
Castle Highlights Disadvantage
Fellow commentator Andrew Castle then said: "That is a tremendous disadvantage for Sinner. He loses the point because of hindrance if that happens again. Sew the pocket up or lose the point. He's actually stuffing the ball further down."
McEnroe Calls for Video Replay
McEnroe followed his assessment by suggesting a VAR-style review for moments like this. "They should go to video replay in the future, and see if the person's done it deliberately," he said. "Now, in that case, it was not deliberate," he added. When Castle suggested there were enough monitors and surveillance equipment on the premises, his co-commentator made a World Cup comparison, saying: "Like France-Paraguay with the guy trying to mess up the penalty kick. That's weak, man."
