Naomi Osaka disagreed with an automatic line call (Image: Eurosport)
approached the umpire after a call went against her at the .
The former world No. 1 was taken into a decider after winning the first set of her match against Caroline Garcia and awkwardly celebrated winning a point before the electronic hawkeye system called it in.
Even after seeing a replay, Osaka didn’t believe the automated system and confronted the umpire to plead her case.
Osaka and Garcia were facing off in a rematch of last year’s first-round match at the , which was the Japanese star’s second tournament following a lengthy pregnancy break.
Twelve months on, Osaka got off to a much better start and broke the Frenchwoman twice to take the first set 6-3. But Garcia stepped it up to win the second by the same scoreline, taking the match into a third and final set.
Two-time former champion Osaka was keen to keep herself fired up and fist-pumped when one of her opponent’s shots appeared to go long at the baseline. But things quickly became awkward as the electronic system did not go off and the umpire called the point to Garcia.
“That was out, that was out!” Osaka protested. But the screens showed a replay of the point, calling the ball in.
Naomi Osaka defeated Caroline Garcia to advance to the second round (Image: Getty)
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The world No. 51 still didn’t believe the automated hawkeye replay and continued to gesture how wide the ball was. “You saw it differently,” umpire Marijana Veljovic said as Osaka started walking towards her.
“No, but it was this much out. I don’t even stop the point normally,” Osaka argued. But the four-time Major winner quickly retreated to the baseline to continue playing.
A real-time replay of the ball landing on the court was shown on Eurosport and commentator Nick Mullins had to agree with Osaka. “Well, wow. Yeah. To the naked eye, that looked out,” he said.
Miles Maclagan noted that the angle could be deceiving, adding: “Obviously the ball can catch the line before it sort of compresses.”
Osaka was quickly able to forget about the hawkeye incident and broke in the same game to take a crucial lead over Garcia. The former world No. 1 kept on rolling to seal a 6-3 3-6 6-3 victory.
A year after losing to Garcia at the same stage, the 27-year-old said she benefitted from having extra matches under her belt. “I think I grinded on the tour a little bit,” she smiled.
“I feel like it’s a really big coincidence that I’m playing her again. But yeah, I just tried to do my best. And I know we played night match last time as well so it felt a little familiar.”
Osaka will now face 20th seed Karolina Muchova in the second round.