World No. 14 Arthur Fils from France commented on his unexpected loss in the second round of the Madrid Masters tournament. His opponent was Argentine Francisco Comesana, who secured the win with a score of 7/6(4), 6/4.
Fils explained the reasons behind the defeat: “I am very tired. The schedule is tough. I have to train for many days in a row. I need two or three days to rest, and then I`ll get back to training. My opponent played a great match, fought his heart out, forced me to look for my game. This is a big setback for me. If I had finished the first set quickly, the match would have been different, but these things happen.”
Additionally, Fils voiced his dissatisfaction with the electronic line-calling system currently in use on clay courts.
He continued: “It`s terrible. We`ve been playing with electronic line-calling for several weeks now. We are on clay, there are ball marks here. A serve can be two or three centimeters out, but when you watch the video, it shows that the ball touched the line. I think this is awful.
I believe that on clay, we need to bring back the traditional line judges and trust the umpire in the chair. Right now, he does almost nothing. He just sits there to call 15/40, thirty-all, or issue warnings. He no longer comes down to check the mark.
I think this needs to change. Especially on clay – it`s very irritating. It`s hard to accept, especially in such an important moment,” the player stated during his press conference.
Rupert Hartwell 
Adrian Whitmore