© Getty Images Sport – Phil Walter
Lucia Bronzetti came across a video proving that she was right in her claims and made it clear that she was disgusted with Taylor Townsend denying that the ball ever hit her racket in the key moments of their Miami Open match.
This week, 25-year-old Italian Bronzetti made her third Miami appearance. In the Miami first round, world No. 49 Bronzetti clashed against 72nd-ranked American Townsend, who previously won two qualifying matches to reach the main draw.
With Townsend serving for the match in the 10th game of the third set, the third point of the game was played when Bronzetti hit a lob. Just as the Italian’s ball was about to land, it appeared to hit the American’s racket.
But the chair umpire didn’t see it – and while Bronzetti tried to draw attention to what she believed happened – Townsend denied that her racket made contact with the ball as it was about to land. The point was awarded to Townsend, who then went 40-0 in that game before winning the next point to complete a 3-6 6-3 6-4 win.
Later, Bronzetti found a video that showed that Townsend did indeed make contact with the ball, which then changed direction after the contact.
“I don’t know which is worse… the chair umpire or the player who denied it,”…
