Milos Raonic and Frances Tiafoe played out a closely contested first round match at the Toronto Masters but also one with some controversy blended in. A very baffling last point of the first set had everyone rifling through the tennis rulebook only to still be left uncertain. The video of the point soon went viral with many who did not watch the match catching that particular point and they weren’t disappointed. Tiafoe touched the net during a point but ended up being awarded the set point anyway, leaving Raonic miffed. He did ultimately win the match 6(12)-7, 7-6(4), 6-3.
In his post match press conference, the Canadian vented his frustration not just at the confusing rules but also at how the situation was handled by the officials. Raonic seemed to disagree with the rule in question, even making a very valid argument against it, before speaking his mind about how the whole situation was handled poorly by the officials.
Milos Raonic confused by the rules
With the score at 12-13 in Frances Tiafoe’s favor, Raonic and the American were playing out a cautious rally when the Canadian’s shot hit the net cord, making for an unintended drop shot. Tiafoe chased it down to hit a winner but ran into the net, an act that would usually mean the player concedes the point. While the chair umpire did initially award the point to Raonic, he changed his mind quickly after.
The chair umpire would stick with his decision, awarding Tiafoe the opening set but leaving Milos disappointed. The former Wimbledon finalist, however, would bounce back to win the next two sets and proceed to the next round. While he’s happy with the start he’s made to the tournament in his country, especially after the long and difficult two years he’s had, Raonic was vehement when he addressed the incident in his post match press conference.
“I guess the part that’s confusing is he did call it my point and at one point he said whatever it was, 12 all or 13 all. Then he went and changed his mind.
“The issue was that amount of times the whole conversation was changed because then it was ‘oh okay, which part of the net he touched’. The line was that if it’s past the singles sticks in a singles match, it’s considered as a permanent structure, not the net. But I’m sure that if I hit a forehand that hit the top of that post on the doubles and it bounced across or it happened to me they would count that as a let.”
Having explained the whole situation and what explanation was given to him on court, Raonic went on to express his displeasure at the organizers.
“I don’t have faith that they were being completely honest, but it is what it is. I think they just handled it badly.”
