“Ground breaking stuff” - Taylor Fritz takes sarcastic dig at ATP’s officiating update after his controversial dispute with umpire at Cincinnati Open

Taylor Fritz mocked the ATP's latest officiating update concerning the controversial call in his opening-round match at the Cincinnati Open. Fritz was irate at the decision and voiced his condemnation of it.

The American No. 1 was stunned 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(4) by Brandon Nakashima in the opening round of the Masters 1000 event. The match had a controversial moment during a rally in the second set.

Nakashima hit a forehand which seemingly fell out, and Fritz who stopped momentarily carried on as there was no call. Chair Umpire Greg Allensworth stopped the point asking for it to be replayed because of a technical error. This decision left the 26-year-old in disbelief and he went to argue with Allensworth, who also felt the ball fell out, over the call.

However, the chair umpire said that had Fritz stopped the point instead of continuing, they could have checked the decision. The American questioned the use of electronic line calling if he was supposed to make these judgments but his pleas came to no avail as the point was finally replayed.

This controversy became a huge point of discussion in the tennis fraternity, with many feeling that Taylor Fritz had been wronged.

In light of recent events, ATP made an officiating update which stated that if the review official determined that a ball was out during a point the decision would stand.

"ATP Officiating Update: After recent technical issues with Live ELC in Montreal and Cincinnati, we have conducted a thorough review of our protocols. Going forward, if the Review Official determines during a rally that a ball was out earlier in the point (but was not called by the system), that decision will stand."

Taylor Fritz responded to the update on X (formerly Twitter) and took a sarcastic dig at the decision, saying:

"Thank god 🙏🏻 If you hit a ball out then you lose the point…. Ground breaking stuff 😂."

Daniil Medvedev, Frances Tiafoe, and other players showed their support for Taylor Fritzs, who they felt had been wronged

Taylor Fritz (Image Source: Getty)

Many players stepped up to call out the decision that went against Taylor Fritz.

Frances Tiafoe alluded to his exit at the Canadian Open, where he felt recurring line call errors had occured.

"Bro this gotta get figured this happen to me last week. Do better ATP Tour yall please do better."

Daniil Medvedev called the decision ridiculous and couldn't understand how Frtiz didn't win the point.

"Ridiculous decision… the ball was out, point is over, point to Fritz. How was this not the outcome?"

Alex Michelson questioned why the point was replayed.

"Ball was out why are we replaying the point"

Denis Shapovalov was shocked by the umpire telling Taylor Fritz to stop the point.

"'If you would have stopped the point.' I can’t anymore," Denis Shapovalov wrote on X surprised at the umpire's response to Fritz's pleas.

Fritz's American No. 1 ranking is in jeopardy as Ben Shelton who has overtaken Tommy Paul to become the American No.2. Shelton