Cerundolo blamed the official, but he also believed Rune might have given up the point due to the double bounce.
Following a tight match between Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina and Holger Rune of Denmark at the French Open, Cerundolo expressed devastation over his loss in the fourth-round match. He was particularly frustrated with chair umpire Kader Nouni for failing to detect a double-bounce of the ball on a crucial point that ultimately favoured Rune in his 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) victory.
The incident occurred when the players were tied at one set each and the score was 2-1 in favour of the sixth-seeded Rune in the third set on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Cerundolo, serving at deuce, hit a forehand that skidded low near the baseline and made a second bounce quickly, indicating that the point should have been awarded to him.
In tennis, electronic line-calling technology is commonly employed to determine whether a ball is in or out of bounds. However, replays are not used to review instances such as double-bounces or violations such as a player touching the net, which is against the rules.
Although Francisco Cerundolo primarily blamed the chair umpire for the missed double-bounce, he also believed that Holger Rune could have voluntarily conceded the point upon recognising the double-bounce.
"For sure, I wish he would have done that, because it was a big moment," Cerundolo said.
But Rune added, "This is tennis. This is sports. Some umpires, they make mistakes. Some for me; some for him. That’s life."