There was more booing at the ATP Finals on Thursday night as the crowd jeered Holger Rune following an unusual video review incident in his match against Jannik Sinner. The world No 8 tried to challenge his own serve but the umpire claimed he requested the challenge too late and used VAR-style technology to check whether he did raise his arm in time. When his challenge request was dismissed again, the fans continued to boo when Rune tried to serve and the umpire stepped in, giving the fans an ultimatum to make them stop.
Inside the arena, Prime Video pundit Daniela Hantuchova said the fans were going wild as she backed the umpire’s decision after watching the video replay on the big screens. “This is fascinating because I think it’s a first and the crowd is going crazy,” the former world No 5 said.
“She’s right, 100 per cent. He moved to the ball, missed it and then he raised his arm. Here we have every citizen of Torino going against [Rune].” The 20-year-old stayed by Tourte’s chair to try and argue his case but nothing could be done, with the booing only intensifying.
“I can’t give you the challenge, we reviewed it, we see that you raised [your arm] after. It’s too late,” she explained. Rune eventually conceded and went back to the baseline, sarcastically clapping the crowd and giving them a thumbs up as they jeered. But it continued as he stepped up to serve, meaning the Dane had to wait before he could carry on playing.
