WATCH: Controversial scenes at Swiss Indoors 2024 as chair umpire makes massive error in favor of Ben Shelton against Tomas Martin Etcheverry

Controversy ensued at the 2024 Swiss Indoors when the umpire made a massive error and awarded a point to Ben Shelton when it was rightfully his opponent Tomas Martin Etcheverry's. The Argentinian eventually lost the match in straight sets.

In the first set of their first-round match, sixth seed Ben Shelton faced unseeded Etcheverry. During the sixth game, with Etcheverry trailing 2-3, 15-30 on serve, the umpire made a controversial call.

Shelton's return on Etcheverry's serve landed outside the baseline and hit the Argentine's leg. Etcheverry had carefully avoided touching the ball before it bounced, but the umpire believed otherwise, ruling that the ball had struck him directly and awarded the point to Shelton.

Despite Etcheverry's protests, the decision stood. Shelton, now at 40-30, broke Etcheverry's serve on the next point, taking a 4-2 lead.

Watch the controversial umpire call against Tomas Martin Etcheverry below:

Ultimately, the break proved decisive as Shelton closed out the first set 6-3. The World No. 23 then claimed the second set 6-4 to secure his victory and advance.

The second set also had a memorable moment, though for different reasons. Before the ninth game, a fan in the stands proposed to Shelton, prompting the American to laugh before refocusing and continuing the match.

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Tomas Martin Etcheverry breaks silence after controversial umpire call in match against Ben Shelton in Swiss Indoors 1R

Tomas Martin Etcheverry during the 2024 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage (Image: Getty)

Tomas Martin Etcheverry took to Instagram to make his feelings known about the controversial umpire call during his Swiss Indoors first-round match against Ben Shelton. On his Instagram story, the Argentine reshared a video of the point in question and wrote in Spanish:

"Amazing [Incredible] that they still haven't had a review @atptour... These things can't be happening anymore ..."

Tomas Martin Etcheverry's Instagram Story (Image: Instagram @tomasetcheverry123)

After the match, Shelton explained that he had asked his team, who were positioned on that baseline, and they believed the ball hit Etcheverry's foot first. For that reason, he didn’t request the point be awarded to the Argentine, stating that it wasn’t his place to do so.

He also acknowledged that from his position, he couldn’t see what had happened clearly. Shelton then emphasized the importance of having a replay system to avoid such controversies in the future.

"I think another reason we need that VAR whatever... That has to become a part of tennis because it is a game of millimeters," Ben Shelton said.

In the second round, Shelton will take on the winner of the match between Stan Wawrinka and Adrian Mannarino.