Canadian Open star wins bizarre point as ball goes through the net and VAR needed

Matteo Gigante called for a video review after an unusual mistake during his Canadian Open match against Gabriel Diallo. The Italian wildcard was in a tough spot early on, quickly going 0-3 down, and was fighting to get a game on the board.

He lost a point at deuce on his serve, but was convinced that Canadian star Diallo's return had gone through the net, and therefore wasn't a valid shot. He approached the umpire and asked for the point to be reviewed. A video replay was shown on the big screen, and the fans on the centre court were stunned as they watched Diallo's return sail straight through one of the holes in the net.

The world No. 125 was serving at deuce when he noticed Diallo's return go through the middle of the net. Gigante missed the next ball and immediately walked up to the chair with his arms aloft.

"It went down, the serve or the return?" chair umpire Manuel Absolu asked. "So you wanted to check it on the video review?"

The official turned to Diallo and said: "He wants to check it, he asked for the replay." Addressing the crowd, Absolu announced: "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Gigante is requesting a video review to check if the ball went through the net."

The Italian put his hands on his hips and then leaned over the net while waiting for the video replay to show on the screens inside the arena.

"We've got a video review waiting to see what happens here. It's Matteo Gigante in your picture, he's an Italian wildcard. He doesn't look happy, does he? He looks slightly perplexed," Sky Sports pundit Gigi Salmon said as the umpire waited to see the footage.

"He looks confused, I think we're all a little bit confused. He's waiting to see on the big screen and it's not going his way in terms of the match. He's 0-3 down."

A slow-motion replay finally appeared, and it became clear that Diallo's return somehow made it through the middle of the net.

Salmon exclaimed: "It went through the net! I think it's a pretty good angle. It looks like it went through the net. It went through the net! That's a good enough angle. And now the crowd have seen it. It's on the big screen, I think we can confirm. There it goes."

Absolu overturned the call and gave the point to Gigante instead, announcing his decision to the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, the return of Diallo went through the net. Call is overturned, advantage Gigante," he announced.

Diallo netted the ball on the next point, allowing the world No. 125 to hold serve and get on the board for the first time.

Gigante still couldn't get the break back and 27th seed Diallo led 5-3 when play was suspended due to rain. He took the first set 6-3 when the match resumed but Gigante struck first in the second set. He had two set points and served for to force a decider but Diallo won 6-3 7-6(5).

To be the first to receive the latest tennis news, join our WhatsApp community or newsletter