BREAKING NEWS: ‘I’m not playing until we switch that machine off man!’: Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram REFUSE to play on over a controversial Hawkeye call… with the No 1 seeds demanding the machine is switched off during Wimbledon quarter-final
- Court 2 saw a moment of drama at Wimbledon in a men’s doubles quarter-final
- No 1 seeds Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram were left furious over a Hawkeye call
- They believed they had broken at 5-5, only for Hawkeye to label the winner as in
- Ram and Salisbury were furious and refused to play until machine was turned off
- A court supervisor was called before they reluctantly agreed to carry match on
A Wimbledon men’s doubles quarter-final descended into chaos when No 1 seeds Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram refused to play on until Hawkeye was turned off, following a controversial call on a break point.
Brit Salisbury and American partner Ram believed they had taken a key break at 5-5 in the second set.
Opponents Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin quickly challenged, despite it appearing long, and they were successful when the Hawkeye replay showed it had caught the line.
‘No way man!’ fumed Ram. ‘That is absolutely ridiculous.’
Salisbury quickly added that he would not continue playing until the machine was turned off, something chair umpire Fergus Murphy refused to do.
The No 1 seeds returned to their courtside seats and refused to play on, despite Murphy repeatedly insisting they would not be turning Hawkeye off.
‘There’s no way,’ Ram continued with his rant, ‘no way at all. We’re turning the machine off. We’re not in the future here man.’
‘There is NO chance that is in,’ said Salisbury. ‘You know it is wrong. Can you get the supervisor?’
The supervisor came on court in a bid to placate the furious pair but they continued to insist that the machine isn’t working and has to be turned off.
Told that he would investigate, the supervisor disappeared and Ram and Salisbury were ordered to play the remainder of the second set, which they went on to lose 7-6 in a tie-break.
The moment with a break point opportunity up 40-30 at 5-5 was a match-defining point and the pair sat down at the end of the second set furiously shaking their heads.
More to follow.
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