"Not even Alexander Zverev fan, but that umpire should be suspended"; "Gaston's a cheater"- Fans furious over ball bounce controversy at Hamburg Open

Controversy erupted during Alexander Zverev's second-round clash against Hugo Gaston at the ongoing Hamburg European Open on Thursday, July 18. It resulted from Gaston being awarded a point in the first set, after a rally where the Frenchman returned one of Zverev's shots after the ball had bounced twice. The chair umpire failed to spot the double bounce, resulting in a livid Zverev. Fans reacted to the incident and criticized the umpire's decision.

Fortunately for Zverev, the chair umpire's decision did not ultimately cost him, as he went on to win the match 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. The World No. 4, the No. 1 seed at the ATP 500 event is set to take on No. 8 seed Zhang Zhizhen in the quarterfinals next on Friday, July 19.

The controversial moment stemmed from a backhand smash hit by Zverev. Gaston had to stretch his body to its limits to reach the ball, but by the time he got his racquet to it to return it, it had bounced twice. Zverev kept playing and Gaston was ultimately given the point after hitting a crosscourt backhand winner.

The German was understandably incensed, but his complaints fell on deaf ears, as the chair umpire stuck to her original decision.

Fans on X later reacted to the incident, with the majority supporting Zverev and criticizing Gaston and the chair umpire. One set of fans bemoaned bad calls that the German has had to experience lately.

For instance, during the French Open final against Carlos Alcaraz, a crucial point went against him in the fifth and deciding set after a questionable call by the umpire. Ultimately, Alcaraz would go on to win the final.

"Not even a Zverev fan, but that umpire should be suspended," wrote a fan.

"Thanks to atp umpire for robbing Zverev in 2024 on crucial points... Today on set point.. RG final on break point in final set," another fan commented.

"Zverev has been getting bad calls lately to be fair to him it does seem like they are a bit biased towards him even,maybe because of that court case he just had. Maybe it's not intentional but he has been getting bad calls a lot," another fan chimed in, speculating that the German's domestic abuse trial saga may have something to do with calls going against him.

"2 bounces of course!! Everybody saw them except the umpire!!" wrote yet another fan.

Another set of fans slammed Gaston, opining that the Frenchman should have conceded the point but decided not to.

"It was so blatant and for Gaston to even signal to Zverev that it was only 1 bounce just shows how much of a cheat he is, let alone the betting scandal was involved in. The umpire was embarrassing! Why they can’t look back at the reply and make a decision is beyond me," a fan wrote.

"Gaston is a disgusting cheater, how is he still allowed to play the sport, there's always a cheating incident whenever he plays," another fan added.

"Shame on you Gaston," commented yet another fan.

Casper Ruud sided with Alexander Zverev as well, with the Norwegian bemoaning lack of video review

Casper Ruud (Source: Getty)

Former World No. 2 Casper Ruud expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of video review. The Norwegian took to X and questioned why it is yet to be introduced despite players being denied points owing to bad calls made by umpires.

"Crazy to me that we’re in 2024 and it’s not possible to challenge/video review calls like this," Ruud wrote.

Ruud and Zverev faced each other in the semifinals of the 2024 French Open, and their Roland Garros clash was marred by two separate clashes with the chair umpire. On one occasion, it was Ruud who took objection to a call. In the second instance, Zverev faced up to the umpire after another questionable call.