Andy Murray’s brother tears into Italian Open umpire as Brit crashes out

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.

Jamie posted a screenshot of the Hawk-eye footage that showed the ball clearly landing out. Starting with a clown face emoji, he added: “How do you get this so wrong when you can get off your chair and look at the mark?! Where’s #ELC.”

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At the end of last month, the ATP announced that the entire Tour will adopt Electronic Line Calling Live on all courts from 2025 in a huge shake-up. ELC Live has been used at several events for a number of years now and has been praised for improving accuracy and consistency across tournaments.

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP chairman, said: “This is a landmark moment for our sport, and not one we’ve reached without careful consideration. Tradition is core to tennis and line judges have played an important part in the game over the years.

“That said, we have a responsibility to embrace innovation and new technologies. Our sport deserves the most accurate form of officiating and we’re delighted to be able to deliver this across our whole Tour from 2025.”

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