I disagree. If she did foot fault, it absolutely should be called - otherwise, you're basically saying "in critical situations, you're allowed an illegal advantage on your serve". This is a sport where every inch and every edge matters. Apparently, she had done it before in the match too (? I didn't see it) - if so, then you definitely have to call it. You can't not call it just because it's an important point.
What about all the time violations that these tennis players break on EVERY serve? There should be discretion in all rules. There are some rules that deserve discretion, and others that should be applied to the letter. For what it's worth, here's what Serena said:
I agree. A line call ("in or out") is something that needs critical review. But a toe on a line? How much of an advantage is that for the server? And why is that specific rule scrutinized so heavily all of a sudden? If anyone watched the whole match, I'm wondering if the line judge that called the second foot fault is the same one Serena was complaining to during the first set when he/she missed that "out" call by a considerable margin.
I agree - but foot faults give you an advantage within the point. Serves are hit on lines all the time, and that 1 less inch of distance gives the returner that split second less to react, which could make a difference when you're talking about the speeds these players serve at. The line judge has to make the call before he/she sees how the returner does, so you have to consistently call it, or a player can take advantage of it to get an advantage (not saying Serena did that). Time violations don't have that same kind of impact.
I disagree with you here. Time violations do give the server an advantage of determining the timing and condition of the point. They can wait for the wind to die out, they can serve when the returner isn't set, or it can be an extra couple seconds of rest. Rafa Nadal is notorious as one of the slowest players between serves, yet the chair umpire will rarely warn players of time violations. Having a toe on the line is not that big of an advantage as you think. Neither is the time violations, which are two rules that I believe deserve discretion. Let the players play.
I know you were responding to McDonuts there, Major, but if you watch enough tennis how many times do you ever run into a foot fault call, especially in the Semis of a Grand Slam tournament? Sure the event shouldn't take away the fact that rules are rules, but I'm pretty sure Serena wasn't the first person to step over the line (or allegedly step over the line) in this tournament. It was a line judge being overly critical on a meaningless rule when other things (like watching the line on return shots) matter more because there were a few times during the match where I wondered if the shot was even in or not.
Calling a foot fault with literally maybe a toe on the line is the NBA equivalent of calling a foul when a player with the shot clock off during the last few seconds of the 4th and drives it in and uses any minimal contact to try and draw a foul and gets the call. As NBA fans, we get irate when (if) those calls are ever made, unless of course its a Rockets player that benefited. I can understand if she clearly stepped over the line and her toe ended up completely inside the boundary, but by the replay, it isn't clear if that happened at all. Yes, it is a rule and by the book it should be called, but I feel as if it's almost the same situation. Minimal contact during a NBA play in the same circumstances should warrant a foul, but we expect that never to be called. Every sport has that certain call or rule which has a very big grey area.
I can't remember the last time I've seen a foot fault called and I watch a fair share of tennis. It does suck but it's likely Serena would have lost anyways. So the men's semis are scheduled for tomorrow? What time is Federer playing? If it's after the Texans' game then I am setup for a beautiful day of sports, provided we win of course.
Clijsters and Serena were very evenly matched, with Serena hitting much more of the unforced errors. I agree that Clijsters seemed like she would take the match, but what happened was just a terrible way to determine who wins.
I wonder if the tiny little Asian linesman is tennis' version of Tim Donaghy. You never know. I think Safin was called for a foot fault at a critical point in a match earlier this year and went off about it.
Nadal-del Potro on ESPN2 and Federer-Djokovic on CBS. Apparently, CBS is not expecting the second match to begin until after the noon football game. They probably will not start until then to accomodate TV time. Again, big day for sports fans tomorrow.
It was a terrible way to see a match end, but Serena had previously gone off on a linesman that called her for a foot fault in a previous match. And the slamming her racket and breaking it early in the match was uncalled for. Serena is a very arrogant player, and I don't like the way she represents the game.
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Even if it was a bad call you do not threaten an official like that. If any of you play local sports, kids sports etc. you probably know there is a shortage of umpires/referees/officials and stuff like this is hardly going to get more people involved. Cannot believe some people are sticking up for her carrying on like that, very classless... I think a lot of NBA players are thugs but I can't remember too many threatening to ****ing shove a basketball down the refs throat. I bet Serena has got her fair share of favorable calls in her time too... at the end of the day no one can tell for sure the call was wrong anyway.
It's crazy and sad to have the match end like that. I had to rewind and watch it several times. The announcers were all saying it wasn't a foot fault, but watching it again, I saw that it actually was. It wasn't her toe, though. If anyone is just watching her toe it will appear that it wasn't a foot fault. Her heel actually broke the plane of the line. It kind of twisted for a second and broke the plane of the line. I guess the rule is that it doesn't even have to touch the ground. It just has to be over the line even if its in the air.
I don't think the replay cameras are set-up to cover the baseline. I think they focus on the ball. The announcers were initially harping that her foot didn't come down out of the air and touch down past the baseline before she made contact, which made it seem like a blown call. But I'm pretty sure the linesperson was citing Williams' left foot crossing the line before her upward motion. The replay looked inconclusive, but it was from behind, didn't have the same angle as the linesperson. It looked like she just grazed the line to me, though it was close. (Look at 4:48 of the replay above.) Tennis is the cliched "game of inches," millimeters even. Not just the line calls, but it's a sport where being 6'10" makes you into a serving god (Karlovic), just based on that tiny extra bit of leverage and serving angle from the baseline. This is why foot-faulting should be called; it's a decided advantage. If the linesperson saw her foot touch the line, she should have called it, regardless of the time in the match. It was an unfortunate ending, and an understandable reaction on Williams' part (already frustrated by being outplayed the rest of the match by a recent retiree, she snapped), but the linesperson should never ignore what he/she sees.
I'm pretty sure that's incorrect, that the foot has to indeed touch the ground for it to be considered a fault. I've known players who take seemingly mini-running jumps to serve, landing a few feet in the court each time. As long as the server hits the ball off his/her racket before landing inside the court or on the line, I think it's okay. I think the error cited was that her left foot grazed the line on her little toe-tap move, before she even went up for the serve.
I don't think it was a foot fault (if it was, it was minimal touching of the line with the left toes, which is rarely ever called and probably shouldn't be called especially in this situation); however, Serena Williams crossed the line and got the appropriate sanction for it. Unfortunate for Clijsters who would have deserved a different way of winning (she would have won anyway). As a sidenote (while it was all according to the book), seeing the little Asian lineswoman run and tattle-tell to the umpire looked funny.
Great call Ronny. You can take the woman out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the woman. Let's not be biased just because Serena is an American, a fault is a fault and in tennis you don't let these things slide. If you're trying to make analogies between refereeing in the NBA and in tennis, you don't understand the game. The call was made, Serena was already down in the game, and her testosterone got the best of her. I don't consider this controversial at all, that's just the media sensationalizing it for ratings.
