#SmashTalk: electronic line-calling discussed

In a sport as conservative and conscious of its traditions as tennis, innovation and change can chill the blood of the sport’s administrators and fans.

So, when the ATP announced it will debut electronic line-calling at its inaugural Next Gen Finals in Milan, there was plenty of reaction and a variety of responses.

The Tennismash team of Paul Moore, Matt Trollope and Bede Briscomb offer their views, as well as discussing who has the most to lose in the last segment of the tennis season and which team might emerge victorious at this weekend’s new Laver Cup.

Agree or disagree with our panel? Have your say on Facebook and Twitter using #SmashTalk.

What do you think of the electronic line-calling initiative being introduced at the ATP Next Gen finals?

Moore: Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t like it. There’s something about that moment at a crucial time in a match when a player hits a shot, there’s a pause and a line judge raises their arm. It’s dramatic, and when the player implodes as a result, it makes for some of the most watchable television that there is. It also provides those ‘watercooler’ moments – things people discuss after the match. Lose that, and tennis loses something special.

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Trollope: Credit to the ATP for trying something new and innovative. But I don’t like this very much. I’m not exactly sure how it will work, but Hawk-Eye has always had a delay when the players challenge and then the digital graphic is produced for an in/out determination. I don’t like how this could impact the pace and rhythm of play – even if the ATP is describing it as “instant”. Plus, it reduces the number of jobs in the sport, which is never a good thing.

Briscomb: I just love that they’re trying stuff. A lot of major sports are so conservative and so entrenched in ‘tradition’ that they rarely look at ways to improve the game. Screw tradition – if the technology is there then this is a no-brainer.

Who has the most to lose during the Asian/fall swing?

Moore: Roger Federer. What?! Yes, that’s right. If I was sitting in Fed’s shoes right now I would be seriously considering calling time on the year. He hurt his back in Montreal and it wasn’t fixed by the US Open. If he goes and does it again through the Asia swing (and the rest of the year), any chance of him defending his Australian Open title is out the window. Rafa is too far ahead to catch, and the only big prize left is the end of year champs (and he has plenty of them already). It would be much better for him to rest up, recharge, and blow everyone away again in January.

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Trollope: Dominika Cibulkova. A finalist in Wuhan last year, as well as the champion in Linz before capturing the biggest title of her career at Singapore’s WTA Finals, the Slovak has a mountain of points to defend – and hardly the form to do it. She faces a steep slide in the rankings if she can’t perform.

Briscomb: Garbine Muguruza. She’s got her foot on the throat of the rest of the competition and now she needs to clamp down. The world No.1 looked dominant in New York but fell to an inspired Kvitova; that’s fine, but if it happens again we can be officially concerned. No titles and/or a poor showing in the WTA Finals will have the next-big-thingers looking for a new poster girl.

Laver Cup – will it be Team Europe or Team World winning the trophy?

Moore: I think we all know the answer to this one: Team Europe. The teams reflect the rankings, and the rankings don’t lie: at the moment Europe is the powerhouse of world tennis. Even if you took Roger and Rafa out of the picture, Cilic, Zverev and Thiem are all head and shoulders ahead of the competition.

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Trollope: Team Europe already had far greater star power and depth – five top-10 players, versus nobody in the top 15 on Team World – and now that Juan Martin del Potro is out of Team World, it’s hard not to see the Europeans walking away with the inaugural cup.

Briscomb: I’ll answer your question with a question: will Team World win a match?