The Australian, enjoying an exceptional season with a Masters win in Montreal and a notable victory over Novak Djokovic at the US Open, narrowly defeated Medvedev 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4) in a thrilling second-round clash.

Currently ranked 24th, this victory marked only Popyrin’s third career win over a top-five opponent.

However, during a crucial moment at 4-4 in the third set, Popyrin, facing a break-point, almost fell to the floor in disbelief after a mistake from the line judge – a call even the umpire branded ‘terrible’.

Umpire clashes with Alexei Popyrin after ‘terrible’ line call

The Paris Masters has mostly managed to avoid major controversy so far – a feat in stark contrast to the Shanghai Masters earlier this month which was plagued by, often uncalled for, player outrage.

After Medvedev evened up the tie with a resounding second set win, the pair couldn’t be separated in the decider.

Break point down, Popyrin reacted to a drop shot from the Russian by managing to dink it back over him. Catching the right tramline, Popyrin’s sharp reflex lob looked to have all but won him the point.

A loud call from the line judge came while Medvedev just about managed to scoop the ball back over the net, leaving the Australian with a routine smash.

In disbelief, Popyrin immediately and rightly challenged the call, before resting his racquet on the net and reeling off a handful of angry expletives.

The umpire then told Popyrin: “That’s a terrible call, I know,” with the Australian then responding, “I don’t want to play.”

Despite this clarity from the umpire, the point has to be replayed. Fortunately and testament to his resolve, Popyrin went on to win the match in a crucial tie-break.

The Australian said afterwards, reported by ESPN: “Stuff like that, I’m trying to let it fire me up rather than put me down. It was tough to take, but it definitely fired me up after that, probably woke me up a little bit, and maybe I played a bit more free.”

This mistake only adds more reason to remove line judges

Wimbledon announced it would be scrapping line judges after 147 years in the 2025 edition of the event.

For a tournament so stupid in tradition, there was significant backlash, despite the rule already being in play at both the US and Australian Open – The French Open doesn’t have line judges because the ball leaves a mark on the surface.

While a decision that not only takes away jobs from a number of tennis officials, mistakes at such crucial moments are only going to bolster those who favour this move.

While, on this occasion, the ball only clipped the line, it does raise the question that if you can use technology to remove these mistakes, why wouldn’t you?

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