Wimbledon is being asked to bring in VAR after a strange moment during Jannik Sinner’s match.
John McEnroe has suggested bringing VAR to Wimbledon after a tricky moment in the match between Jannik Sinner and Jan-Lennard Struff.
Sinner won in straight sets against Struff, earning his spot in the semi-finals. But even though it looks like an easy win on paper, it was actually a tough match for the young champion. The first set was decided by just one break, with Sinner staying calm to take it 7-5. The second set was similar—Sinner was behind 6-5 but stayed strong to win the tie-break 7-4.
In the final set, Sinner took advantage of a tired Struff to win 3-0, continuing his streak of not dropping a set in his last four Wimbledon matches. Next, he’ll face either Novak Djokovic or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals.
The match on Court One wasn’t without controversy, though. Early in the second set, Sinner had a break point when a spare ball fell out of Struff’s pocket during a rally. The umpire called a let, giving Struff a second chance to stay in the point.
According to the rules, the umpire can give the point to the other player if they think it was done on purpose, but there was no sign Struff meant it, so he was allowed to continue.
“The ball fell out of his pocket,” McEnroe told the BBC. “The first time, they play a let; the second time, he loses the point.”
After seeing a replay, McEnroe joked that maybe Struff just needed a quick break after a long rally and said VAR could help in situations like this. “Let’s check if he did it on purpose… no. It’s a long rally! I need a break here. Whoops! I probably won’t win this point!” the five-time Wimbledon champ laughed.
He added, “They should use video replay in the future to see if it was deliberate. In this case, it wasn’t.”
The weather was really hot during the match—over 30℃—which had caused problems for Sinner before. He was knocked out early in the French Open because of the heat, but at Wimbledon, he said he felt ready and strong.
“We worked a lot after Paris to figure out what went wrong, and we prepared as best as we could,” he said after reaching the semis. “Today was a big test, but I felt good physically, which is a step forward. If the heat hits again like in Paris, we’ll know what to adjust. But I’m really happy to be back in the semis.”
Sinner now has a few days to rest before playing either Auger-Aliassime or Djokovic in the semi-finals on Friday.