Milos Raonic snaps at bizarre call on crucial point where ‘net didn’t count’

It’s not very often you can teach professional athletes about a rule in the sport they play.

But sometimes tennis rules surprise even the very best.

During a crucial set point Monday during a first-set tiebreaker between Frances Tiafoe and Milos Raonic at the National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada, a bizarre rule swung the match in Tiafoe’s favor.

With Tiafoe leading an intense tiebreak at 13-12, Raonic hit a booming forehand that bounced off the net cord, forcing Tiafoe to sprint to the net to return the shot.

The American hit a perfectly placed short ball cross-court for a winner but charged into the net, which Raonic assumed would disqualify him for the point.

Chair umpire Fergus Murphy first ruled that it was indeed a net touch, but quickly went back on that idea with a surprising claim: It didn’t matter that Tiafoe had charged into the net.

“Frances, wait, this is complicated … This section of the net doesn’t count as a touch,” Murphy said as both players appeared confused. “Only after the singles post [does a touch count], Milos.”

“What the f–k, a net is a net,” Raonic complained. “Can I ask the supervisor if this counts?”

When called to the court, the supervisor confirmed Murphy’s ruling that the area to the side of the singles’ post did not count and determined that Tiafoe had won the first set.

The partisan crowd at Sobeys Stadium voiced its disapproval and Raonic, who grew up in nearby Thornhill, Ontario, smashed his racket on the player’s bench.

Perhaps the questionable call motivated Raonic, who stormed back to take the match with 7-6 (4), 6-3 wins in the last two sets, thanks in part to a 37-8 edge in aces.

“I don’t want to say too much about it. I have to see if my beliefs are right. I have to check what it is because there’s a lot of things that don’t make sense. I understand the net might not be part of the net at that point,” Raonic said after his win.

“But if a ball was to hit the post and then come across as a let, I’m sure they’d play it as a let and not say the same thing. Maybe he made the right call. Maybe it was just the wrong way it was done by calling the score and then changing your mind, which kind of added to the whole drama of it. But I’ll take a look.”