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Taylor Townsend's alleged racket touch during her first-round match against Lucia Bronzetti at the 2024 Miami Open has left fans furious.
Townsend entered the Miami Open after a disappointing run at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where she lost to Anna Kalinskaya in the second round. However, she powering through the Miami Open qualifiers, earning herself a place in the main draw.
The American came back from a set down to defeat Bronzetti 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Miami first round. However, during the match, there was an incident that left fans fuming at the 27-year-old.
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In the third set, Townsend was 5-4, 30-0 up and serving for the match. That was when a shot by Bronzetti allegedly bounced off her racket but went unnoticed by the umpire and was called out, giving Townsend three match points.
Several fans were upset with Townsend for not conceding the point. They also expressed frustration with the umpire for not calling the racket touch.
One fan was reminded of the Novak Djokovic vs Gilles Muller match at the 2015 French Open. Back then the Serb touched the ball, which was going out before the point ended, and was penalized for his action.
"Ijbol this reminds me of Novak-Muller in RG15. Idk why but I still remember this racket touch. Lost the point correctly and moved on. This is 100% wrong and bad look on Taylor. Just because you like her doesn't make it wrong/be a bad look. Imagine if it was Bronzetti," one fan wrote.
Another fan chimed in by saying that they felt Townsend's handling of the situation was "trash."
"This is absolute trash from Townsend. She felt the ball off her racquet for sure amd didn’t concede. Very low integrity from her," the fan wrote.
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:
Taylor Townsend will face Elise Mertens in Miami Open 2R
Taylor Townsend's victory over Lucia Bronzetti has propelled her into the second round of the Miami Open.
The American will next face 26th seed Elise Mertens, who received a bye in the opening round. This will be the first time the two will meet on the professional tour. They did, however, meet at the junior level once, in the second round of the US Open in 2012, which went Townsend's way.
