"Cristian Garin is a cheater"; "Fire this umpire": Fans furious over disputed decision during Chilean's Estoril Open QF against Nuno Borges

Nuno Borges and Cristian Garin's quarterfinal match at the Estoril Open witnessed a controversy over a disputed call made by chair umpire Christian Rask.

Borges and Garin faced each other on April 5, and the latter raced off to a 6-2 lead in the first set and have one foot into the semifinals. Home favorite Borges rejuvenated his game to stay competitive in the contest and had the first look at a break point in the second set.

Cristian Garin was serving at 2-3 in the second set and trying to save a break point. During their rally, a spectator in the stands shouted "out" on a shot from Garin that just about touched the baseline. Borges briefly waited before returning the shot. The Chilean then hit his return outside the singles sideline.

After that contentious point, Garin went towards chair umpire Christian Rask to complain about the interruption midway through the rally. Following their conversation, Rask ruled the point in Garin's favor even though his last shot had landed out. Borges then approached Rask and later raised his case in front of the supervisor.

The Portuguese clarified that the primary out call was from someone in the crowd, and he continued with the point after that. The second out call was from the linesperson as Garin's shot was outside the sideline. Borges was confused about why Garin was awarded the point instead of a replay.

Nevertheless, Rask's call stood, and Garin went on to win that game, wrap up the contest in the second set tiebreak, 6-2, 7-6 (3), and progress to the Estoril Open semifinals .

Tennis fans were in total shock by the incident at the Estoril Open and befuddled by the chair umpire's call. Many thought Borges was robbed for a legitimate point and condemned Rask's decision.

"Total robbery What the actual…," tennis journalist Jose Morgado reacted.

"Fire this umpire because Nuno Borges is getting screwed. Shame on Christian Garin for not conceding and replaying the point. You cannot do this to Nuno. In fact, Nuno should have the break and Garin missed the next shot. The worst decision I’ve seen in a long time in tennis," a fan stated.

Fans called for the chair umpire to be held accountable for his grave mistake, which some believed turned the tide against Nuno Borges and in favor of Cristian Garin.

This umpire should be held accountable, Check his betting accounts, a fan wrote.

"And once again, chair umpires doing everything they can to steal the attention with their bad job. Unbelievable!" said another fan.

"The umpire literally changed the match," a fan posted on X.

Many fans did not let Cristian Garin off the hook either. They slammed the Chilean's unsportsmanlike conduct in not accepting that his ball had landed out and keeping quiet when Rask awarded him an unfair point.

"The umpire is awful but Garin is a cheater and unsportsmanlike player," a fan said.

"I will never root for Cristian Garin in my life. What a terrible act and textbook example of unsportsmanlike conduct. A fan calls ball out during the point on BP for Borges. Chair Christian #Rask stops play and gives the point to Garin (!?) instead of replaying it. #EstorilOpen," a fan tweeted.

"Nuno Borges has just lost a point because the umpire is a complete bellend, is a more accurate description. You’re always going to have these sorts of shouts from the crowd occasionally, it’s up to the umpire to replay the point and do what’s right. He did not, and it was within his power to do so," a fan wrote on Reddit.

Cristian Garin to face Hubert Hurkacz in Estoril Open SF, Casper Ruud up against Pedro Martinez

Hubert Hurkacz reaches Estoril Open semifinal

Cristian Garin came through a testing contest against Borges and will next face No. 2 seed Hubert Hurkacz in the semifinal at the Estoril Open. The Pole booked his place in the last four with a straight-set win over Pablo Llamas Ruiz.

Garin and Hurkacz previously faced in a Wimbledon qualifier in 2018, with the former winning 6-2, 6-2, 7-5.

The Chilean is hoping to spark some life into his 2024 season after a forgettable start to the year. He managed to win only one tour-level match before the Estoril Open but put on a good show to reach his first semifinal of the year.

Whoever out iof Garin or Hurkacz wins the match, will face either defending champion and top seed Casper Ruud or Pedro Martinez in the Estoril Open final.