Reading these two articles, it seems that hawk-eye is not trustworthy..

Tennis: Beaten Nadal launches attack on Hawkeye


by Richard Eaton
8 minutes ago

DUBAI (AFP) - Rafael Nadal launched an angry attack on the Hawkeye computerized replay system after losing his Dubai Open title during a 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 quarter-final defeat to Mikhail Youzhny on Thursday.

The 20-year-old world number two's loss to the unseeded Russian was a repeat of the result in the quarter-final of the US Open in September, though this time it was tinged with controversy.

Nadal appeared to have reached 6-6 in the pivotal first set tie-break when a line judge called Youzhny's drive near the sideline out.

But Youzhny appealed, the ball was shown as in and the score became 7-5 and set to Youzhny.

Nadal threw a ball down furiously and argued with the umpire.

"I said 'look the ball is out'" Nadal said later, "and the umpire said I know. The mark was clearly still there but the challenge (Hawkeye) said it was in. It's unbelievable.

"I know it's not a bad thing for the spectators, but we should have Hawkeye at the French Open on clay (where marks are clear) and then we will all see what is happening."

Despite this, Nadal had been struggling in this match as he had previously against Marcos Baghdatis and Igor Andreew, against both of whom he lost sets.

His heavy topspin drives did not penetrate on a fairly fast hard court, whereas Youzhny's flatter blows often did damage. He was even able to trade cross court backhands with Nadal's famous forehand.

Youzhny broke serve for 4-2 in the second set and looked on top thereafter, until Nadal saved a match point at 2-5 and Youzhny was made to serve out for the match.

He needed five more nervy match points before he could complete the job.

It means that Nadal still has not reached a final since Wimbledon eight months ago.

But, after coming back from a month's rest with from injury, he did not think it was a matter for concern.

"I am not one hundred percent," he acknowledged. "But I am happy with the way I have played here. I feel the best I have been this year and I won two matches."

Youzhny, who agreed he thought the ball was out, now has a great chance of reaching his second successive final - he won the title Rotterdam last week - because he now plays the unseeded Robin Soderling.

Roger Federer is also a critic of Hawkeye, which also played an important part in his quarter-final, a 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 win over the improving 19-year-old Novak Djokovic.

It gave Federer his 39th successive win, he lost a tie-break for the first time in 16 tries (since the US Open in September) and ran into difficulties in the final set.

Without Hawkeye, introduced in this tournament for the first time, Federer would have won in straight sets.

On the second of a pair of match points in the tie-break, a line judge called Federer's drive in, a decision which would have given him a straight sets win.

But the world number 14 appealed to the replay, which showed Federer's shot out, and two points later stole the set with a net cord.

"It's hard to accept at match point. You are either shaking hands or changing sides, and that happens," said Federer, referring to the delay.

Federer's survival earned him a semi-final with the fifth-seeded German, Tommy Haas who continues to prove wrong those people who said it would be impossible to win the title in Memphis on Sunday, and then fly 17 hours to a ten-hour different time zone and survive.

Haas came through with a thumping 6-0, 6-2 win over Olivier Rochius of Belgium, in the process extending his career-best start to the year with a 17th victory in 19 matches.

His one-sided success means that he has dropped only 18 games in three matches here.

"There is nothing you can do about jet lag and I am a little bit surprised. But I'm getting more rest each night - about six and a half hours last night - and by Saturday I will be on the right schedule, just in time to return to the States," the US-based German joked.

More "Hawkeye" talk, this time from Fed:



FEDERER FORGES ON



Hawk Eye dashed Roger Federer's hopes of closing out his battle with Novak Djokovic in two sets on Thursday night.

After being broken in the first game of the match, Federer had come back to take the first set 6-3.

But the 19-year-old Serb refused to go quietly in the second and with the score level at 6-6, the set went to a tie-break.

At 6-5 in the tie-break, Federer hit a ball to the top right of the court. Djokovic over-hit his return and the ball was called out, making it 7-5 and game, set and match to Federer .

All ready to shake hands and head for the post-match press conference, Federer was interrupted mid-stride when Djokovic crouched down and studied the line. He looked at the umpire and asked for a Hawk Eye review.

Federer, head bowed and hands on knees waited on court while the 26 Hawk Eye cameras dotted around the stadium reviewed the final point - and ruled it in.

The point was replayed and won by Djokovic, who also went on to win the next three points.

A huge cheer went up from the Serb's many supporters and Federer suddenly found himself changing ends and preparing to fight for a game he thought he had won just a moment before.

In the third set both players held their serves until the eighth game.

Federer's calm play and precise shots gave him three break points, but he didn't need them. He returned Djokovic's second serve but the Serb couldn't respond and hit the ball out the court to make it 5-3.

Throughout the match Federer displayed flashes of pure genius and lightning quick reactions coupled with magic shots, but at other times had looked somewhat ordinary.

But when it mattered Federer didn't hesitate.

Djokovic, however, later said he truly believed he could have won the game, and he certainly did not hand to Federer on a plate.

A cross court forehand winner put Federer up 15-0, followed by a 184kph ace for 30-0.

Sensing a victory, the restless crowd roared their support for the Swiss, but just when it looked all over, Djokovic snatched the next two points to make it 30-30.

But Djokovic then smashed a forehand into the net and a failed return of serve finally gave a relieved Federer the match.

Asked about the Hawk Eye challenge that had kept him on court for an extra 33 minutes, Federer was philosophical.

"The ball was out," he said ruefully. "Hawk Eye caught it and the linesman missed it, but it was hard to accept.

"It's match point and either you are shaking hands or you are changing sides and its 6-6 and he's got the serve. But to be honest maybe I should have closed it out earlier at 6-4 and not even let it get to 6-5.

"I was not confident going into the match and getting broken right at the beginning is always bad and he started strong but he had his ups and downs as well and he got a bit frustrated when I got him on the run."

The world number one admitted that he hadn't played his best match and staying motivated after losing the tie-break had been tough.

"It was a battle on the day and I managed to play better so I'm happy about that."

"It was just the way I lost. I don't mind losing sets but you think you are already in the press conference telling everyone how great you played and the next thing you know you are getting up for the third set!" he joked.

"I hit match point and the Hawk Eye thing but he had his chances in the end, it was a tough match and I give him a lot of credit for coming back like that."

Djokovic wasn't disappointed after his loss, instead choosing to learn lessons from his battle with the best.

"I believe it was positive," he said. "I played really well at the start but I served bad and made some really easy mistakes and if you cant do that against a player like Roger Federer.

"But I have to be happy about it. I felt that he was beatable and that's normal because of course he's human."

Federer will now face Tommy Haas in the semi-finals. Haas beat Olivier Rochus 6-0 6-2 earlier on Thursday.

But when hawk-eye is being used, Hawk-eye determines the lines. Just as when line judges are used, it is their judgement which determines the lines. For Nadal to blame the machine for losing is dishonest as he profitted from decisions in his favour elsewhere.

The only argument against Hawk-Eye (and a good one) is the expense.

Despite the line call,you can see from the article from BBC,Nadal was never at his best.He was going to lose anyway!

Nadal lost because he was second best on the day. No-one can honestly say to me that Youzhny was the better player yesterday.
Nadal's problems lie with his technique. His attacking baseline game is not up to stratch. His serve is actually pretty good and probably underrated. I've always thought that his forehand while being a good shot, has been overrated and that his backhand is stronger. He was standing closer to the baseline which was an encouraging sign, but honing your attacking game will take at least a few months of practice. I also think that he should possibly get another person in to work alongside his uncle. Fresh input and perspective can't be a bad thing.

a case of sour grapes i think by nadal!!! iHawkeye's a handy excuse when you're not playing very well, rather than admitting your not playing well and possibly giving future opponents a psychological boost.

I think this is interesting; I seem there to be a similar case at the USO, possibly in an early Safin match?

The explanation might be that Hawkeye takes into account the fact that the shape of the ball changes upon impact if the ball was hit hard enough, whereas the mark probably is only left near the center of the ball. :shrug:

What makes me wonder more: sometimes there are cases where Hawkeye rules the ball in, but only by a hair or so. Now, as any other technology, Hawkeye has only a certain accuracy, and I would be surprised if it was accurate enough to make the distinction in such cases. Since it is only used as a challenge system, and not for the regular line-calling, shouldn't it return an 'inconclusive' verdict in such cases, and the original call stand? :shrug:

Good points here. I agree that Nadal is changing his game to be more aggressive. As far as I am concerned, this is a good sign, even if it means less success in the short term. So perhaps his statement of wanting to make the top 8 at the end of the year took this into account?

Also, I agree he should get another coach, or at least a co-coach, who can help him with his game away from clay. But I suppose that this would only happen if his Uncle Toni himself suggested it, seeing how far he has brought Rafa by now.