Fonseca Beats Ruud in 4 Sets as French Open Line-Call Row Deepens

12 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 31

João Fonseca reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud 7-5, 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-2 in a fourth-round match dominated by a disputed second-set call.
At 8-7 in the tiebreak, chair umpire Louise Engzell inspected a mark and ruled Fonseca’s forehand in, even though TV electronic replay appeared to show the ball out; Fonseca then took the breaker and a 2-0 set lead.
The clash sharpened criticism of Roland Garros’ refusal to use electronic line calling, leaving players and viewers to reconcile human mark checks with broadcast technology that can show a different result.
Clay’s variable surface helps explain the mismatch: electronic systems track trajectory and contact point with a 3mm margin of error, while umpires judging ball marks can only assess whether the trace touched the line.
The controversy fed broader mistrust around the tournament’s line-calling approach, which has already triggered repeated player-umpire disputes during the first week in Paris.

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