The time violation that cost home player Jordan Thompson a first-round victory at the Australian Open was supposed to be the biggest drama of the match. “I wish I could have said, ‘Hurry.’ … You gave me no warning,” said Thompson, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. He continued to argue with the chairman in the early stages of the game, which he won. German qualifier Dominik Koepfer.
But what drew some laughs during the tense match was the eerie, faceless voice yelling “Foot fault, foot fault, foot fault” before Koepfer began his serve in the fourth set.
Known as “Tommo” among Australians, he has defeated Djokovic in the past and is popular for his intense and dramatic matches. He won the first two sets against the fighting German 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. Koepfer defeated Thompson shortly after the start of the fourth inning. This was followed by a strange eruption of a pre-recorded mechanical voice chanting, “Foot fault x3…”
After the video was published on theroar.com, Koepfer continued to lose momentum, sets, and matches.
“Jordan Thompson suffered a scare early in the fourth set and was quickly broken by Koepfer,” ABC reported in its live blog.
But he was able to break back — before the AI technology decided to shout “Foot fault, foot fault, foot fault” before Koepfer even started serving. It sounded like some kind of remix. Thompson has shown a lot of fight, so let’s hope he continues to bring it. ”
The reported glitch was a direct result of AI referees entering the field of AI-powered foot injury detection starting in 2024. “We use skeletal tracking technology to improve match accuracy and reduce human error. This innovation reflects Open’s willingness to embrace cutting-edge technology.” said in the theupside.us podcast.
The Australian Open was one of the first tournaments to employ Hawkeye technology, providing line calls to challenge referee decisions. However, the technology’s claim that “AI doesn’t get tired, doesn’t feel pressure, and has no personal bias” justified eliminating Gyouto completely.
AO’s introduction of the technology was heavily promoted by Tennis Australia’s head of innovation, Mashal Reid, who owns Australian Open tennis and his own technology venture. Reed said on the podcast that this is “the only tennis piece to win a data analysis award at the MIT Sloan conference.”
Reed cheered the technology, saying, “Part of their product roadmap is to actually build a line calling solution on a single mobile device…Andy Roddick and James Blake have done the same. I am one of the early investors in the group I mentioned above.” , swing vision. So we are currently co-investing with these two companies. ”
But even before Koepfer offered his services, no one was prepared for the AI to start screaming “foot fault.” If you ask any tennis player, a “foot fault” violation is a decision that can shake confidence, often changing the course of a match as it can upset a player and disrupt their concentration. Remember the 2009 US Open semifinal match between Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters? Williams will forever be remembered for his verbal abuse of a linesman who called for a foot fault at a crucial moment.
Koepfer, who had just won the third set and wanted to break in and tie the fourth set, would have been thrown out, but the high-pitched AI voice greatly entertained the crowd.
Thompson, seeded 27th, then accepted there would be added pressure on Australian players competing in their home slams. That was evident early in the third set when the 30-year-old was given a warning by the umpire for sitting up and violating his time. He was a distracted wanderer, he said.
“You should have said something to me,” he yelled at the officer. “Have you ever been around there once? No, people are just walking around and I’m waiting for them half the time. It’s a joke that I’m a little late and I’m on time,” he said. He continued to explode between games. “It started when we had six balls on our side,” experienced referee Mariya Cichak told a frustrated Tommo.
However, Koepfer, a German, had no one to argue against him. He hadn’t yet served when a “foot fault” chant rang out.
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