Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance & wife Usha attend Taylor Fritz's Cincinnati Open 2024 match against compatriot Brandon Nakashima

Donald Trump's running mate JD Vance attended the 2024 Cincinnati Open first-round match between Americans Taylor Fritz and Brandon Nakashima. The match was marred with controversy over a disputed line call with Nakashima eventually advancing to the second round.

Republican Vice Presidential candidate Vance is also the junior United States senator from Ohio. He was born in Middletown, Ohio, in the same suburban Cincinnati county as the ATP 1000 event.

Vance and his wife Usha sat in the suites area of the Center Court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. They watched the first-round match between Fritz and Nakashima on Tuesday, August 13.

The unseeded Nakashima bagged the first set, while 11th-seed Fritz won a second set that involved a line-call controversy. However, the deciding set went Nakashima's way in the tiebreaker.

Reportedly, Vance left before the second night session match began between Elina Avanesyan and Bianca Andreescu.

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Taylor Fritz confronts umpire over controversial line call during Cincinnati Open 1R loss against Brandon Nakashima

Taylor Fritz at the National Bank Open. (Image: Getty)

Taylor Fritz's first-round encounter against compatriot Brandon Nakashima involved a disputed line call in the second set. Leading 3-2, 30-30, the World No. 12 had an opportunity to earn a break point when controversy ensued.

Nakashima's shot appeared to have landed out, but the point continued until a delayed call from the electronic line calling system arrived. The chair umpire stopped the point and ordered a replay.

Fritz voiced his frustration as he felt that the point should have been awarded to him instead. However, the umpire argued that if Fritz had stopped the point himself, then a different outcome was possible.

"If you would've stopped the point...," the umpire began.

"Okay no wait, no no no no. Don't tell me that I need to stop the point when we have electronic line calling," Taylor Fritz argued.

"I know but that's how it works. You could have stopped the point and we could have looked at it then," the umpire contended.

"I mean yeah if we didn't have electronic line calling, I stop. The ball was so far out," Fritz replied.

The umpire insisted the point to be replayed, but the 26-year-old continued to make his claim.

"Yeah but why don't you stop it? You're in the chair. You saw that ball, it was like a foot out," Fritz questioned.

"For me, I thought it was out too but I can't do that," the umpire said.

"It's actually ridiculous," Taylor Fritz responded.

Despite his frustrations, Fritz won the set but it was the 23-year-old Nakashima who ended up earning his first win over his compatriot and advanced to the second round.