An umpiring blunder at the Australian Open has sparked controversy in a men's doubles match after a player threw his racket at his opponent after he caught the ball mid-point.
Yannick Hanfmann and Dominik Koepfer were one set up against Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos with the second going to a tiebreak.
Granollers and Zeballos took the lead during the tiebreak before a bizarre point was played out that handed them the set.
Zeballos was able to get a racket on a strong forehand from Hanfmann, but his return bounced off the let cord and shot up into the air with lots of backspin.
Marcel Granollers picked up the ball while the point was still live
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The ball landed on the other side of the net, but incredibly spun back over to the other side before Granollers bizarrely caught it.
Rules stipulate if spin or wind brings the ball back over the net to the side of the player who originally hit the shot then the opponent must make contact with the ball otherwise the player that played the show wins the point.
Koepfer had seemingly realised that and he wasn't going to be able to reach back over the net and decided to chuck his racket in an attempt to make contact with the ball.
But Granollers had already begun to catch the ball while the point was still live and before it bounced back of his side of the net.
The apparent error wasn't picked up by the match umpire, who awarded the point to Granollers and Zeballos.
It proved crucial as that point resulted in them taking the second set, leaving former Aussie tennis star John Fitzgerald confused.
"Bemused – I don't know what happened there," he said in commentary.
"This is not right, this can't be right. It's gone over and Granollers grabs it – that's not set, that's not a point, that's a big mistake by the umpire here."
Dominik Koepfer tried throwing his racket to touch the ball
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Fellow commentator Geoff Masters agreed, adding: "That needs to be replayed somewhere for the chair to see, because that's wrong.
"After watching several replays, Fitzgerald theorised whether the umpire had called interference on Koepfer launching his racket in an attempt to touch the ball.]
However, Fitzgerald pointed out that Granollers touched the ball first when the point was still live.
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The players appeared confused in the aftermath
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"So he's interfered with Koepfer having a chance to put that ball away – legally, he can reach over," he added.
"Koepfer is within his rights to go after that, and Granollers stops him.
"While Granollers and Zeballos were able to level up the match in the second set, Koepfer and Hanfmann eventually wrapped up the win in the third.
