An unusual incident disrupted Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon quarter-final against Jan-Lennard Struff on Court 1, as a spare ball fell from Struff's pocket during a rally. The umpire called a let, allowing Struff to replay the point, sparking immediate reaction from BBC commentator John McEnroe.
McEnroe's Immediate Reaction
"The ball fell out of his pocket," McEnroe said. "First [time it happens] they play a let then second time he loses the point." A replay was shown, with McEnroe adding: "Let's see if he did it on purpose... no." He then joked: "It's a long rally! I need a break here. Whoops. I'm probably not going to win this point!'"
Fellow commentator Andrew Castle noted the disadvantage for Sinner, saying: "That is a tremendous disadvantage for Sinner. He loses the point because of hindrance if that happens again. Sew the pocket up or lose the point. He's actually stuffing the ball further down."
Call for VAR-Style Review
McEnroe called for a VAR-style review system for such situations. "They should go to video replay in the future, and see if the person's done it deliberately," he said. "Now, in that case, it was not deliberate." When Castle mentioned the abundance of monitors, McEnroe drew a World Cup comparison: "Like France-Paraguay when the guy tried to mess them shooting up the penalty kick. That's weak, man."
The BBC commentary team noted the rule is more typically invoked when a player's hat falls off. McEnroe recalled witnessing similar incidents rarely in the past.
Impact on the Match
Having been handed a lifeline, Struff saved the break point and held his serve, making it 1-0 in the second set. Sinner then broke him in the following service game, only to be broken back immediately. Castle questioned the rule: "Why would it be a hindrance on the second time it happens and not the first? That has materially affected this match at this point."
Following Sinner's service break, the BBC indicated he was beginning to assert his dominance. However, Struff showcased how German grass-court tournaments have helped players flourish, noting: "We have as well in Germany great grass court tournaments leading into Wimbledon. We have Stuttgart, Halle. On the women's side I think Berlin, Bad Homburg. It's amazing events. That helps us."
Struff referenced past German success: "I think in the past we had great success here for some German players, Boris [Becker], Steffi [Graf], [Michael] Stich, to name a few. Yeah, amazing. It's good that Germans [are getting] good results."
