Andy Murray’s brother tears into Italian Open umpire as Brit crashes out in first round
Andy Murray got into a heated row with chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani during his Italian Open defeat to Fabio Fognini.
Andy Murray’s brother, Jamie Murray, has called for the ATP Tour to bring forward the introduction of Electronic Line Calling Live (ELC) after Mohamed Lahyani messed up in the three-time major winner’s match against Fabio Fognini. Murray was back in action for the first time since his triumph at the Aix-en-Provence Challenger.
The Italian Open was seen as a great opportunity for the Brit to climb further up the rankings in his bid to be seeded at Wimbledon. But he came unstuck against a determined Fognini in front of his home crowd with Murray struggling in the first set.
The world No 42 let his frustrations get the better of him at one stage when Fognini went 5-3 up. A lob from the Italian was called in by the line judge before Murray contested the decision.
Lahyani jumped out of his chair and ultimately agreed with the line judge, prompting a furious response from Murray. He shouted: “Mohamed, look. How can you see that ball from there being in? How is it possible? You’re trying to make a mark now
“You can see the clay is still there. You can see the ball mark.” The angry exchange continued before Hawk-eye footage clearly showed that Murray was right to be aggrieved over the decision.
