MELBOURNE, Australia -- Technology used for player
challenges of line calls at one of the Australian Open's two main
arenas is being turned off at selected times because shadows are
affecting its accuracy.
Tournament director Craig Tiley said the Hawkeye system doesn't
work properly at Vodafone Arena on sunny days when shade crosses
the court between approximately 4:45 and 5:45 p.m.
"In light of the fact that Hawkeye cannot guarantee 100 percent
accuracy, 100 percent of the time, we will not use the Hawkeye
system during this time," at the Vodafone Arena, Tiley said. "The
players will be informed when Hawkeye is not working."
The problem was not an issue Saturday when steady rain forced
the Vodafone Arena roof to be closed and there were no shadows to
affect play.
Vodafone Arena is using the Hawkeye technology for challenges
for the first time this year. Last year, it was used only on the
center court at Rod Laver Arena, where there have been no reported
problems this year.
Under tournament regulations, players are allowed three
incorrect challenges per set, with an extra one if it goes to a
tiebreaker.
Australian Peter Luczak said he noticed some problems during his
second-round loss to David Nalbandian at Vodafone on Thursday.
"He (Nalbandian) was getting a little bit frustrated because
the Hawkeye wasn't in play for some reason," Luczak said. "It
doesn't work when the shadow is halfway across the court."
Ana Ivanovic of Serbia was affected by it during her first-round
win over Sonara Cirstea.
"It's not unreasonable to expect that the technology works
properly," Ivanovic said. "When it breaks down it throws your
concentration. My opponent was causing me enough problems without
me worrying whether the device is working properly."
Tiley said technicians were working on the problem.
"There is a period between 30 and 45 minutes when there's a
large shadow going across the entire court and they cannot
guarantee the minimum accuracy we require," Tiley said.
"We've made the decision, until they've fixed this technical
issue, that the tournament chooses not to have Hawkeye on during
that period. The players are told about it during the match, or in
some cases we don't put the match on until the shadow is off.
"On Wednesday we held a match for 15 minutes so it wasn't an
issue at all."
Tiley said the shadow is large and covers the whole court.
"We don't have this problem on Rod Laver Arena, and there are
shadows out there, too," Tiley said. "It's just the nature and
the darkness of the shadow and the height of the roof which are
contributing factors."