Melbourne, Jan 22 (UNI) A controversial missed call in the second set added a layer of drama to what was otherwise a routine 6-1, 6-2 victory for Iga Swiatek over Emma Navarro in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
At 2-2 in the second set, Navarro appeared to have won a point with a clever drop shot, only for Swiatek to track it down and win the rally. Television replays clearly showed that the ball had bounced twice before Swiatek made contact, but the chair umpire failed to call it.
The oversight sparked immediate debate, recalling last year’s infamous "double bounce" incident between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jack Draper, which led many to question the absence of a video review system in tennis.
Navarro, who had earned her first break point of the match shortly before the incident, was unable to challenge the call in real-time, and opted not to stop play for fear of disrupting the momentum of the match.
Despite the setback, Navarro maintained her composure and continued to battle, but Swiatek’s relentless baseline game proved too much. The Polish star, who had already lost just 14 total games in the tournament up until that point, dominated the second set, winning 82% of her first-serve points and breaking Navarro’s serve five times.
Swiatek will next face Madison Keys, who defeated Elina Svitolina in three sets earlier, with the Polish world number one entering the semifinal as the clear favourite.
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