Hawk-Eye to keep vigil

Dubai: Dubai Duty Free's position as a world leader in sports will be underlined yet again later this month with the introduction of Hawk-Eye at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The revolutionary new line-calling system proved to be a hit with fans when it was used at the US and Australian Opens, but it has rarely been used outside of the Grand Slam events.

Now Dubai tennis fans will have the chance to see the high-tech innovation for themselves as it adds extra excitement to what is already guaranteed to be a spectacular two weeks of tennis.

Hawk-Eye will use a number of dedicated cameras around Centre Court to track the ball with great accuracy, with the ability to determine if a ball is in or out to within a couple of millimeters.

Players must challenge immediately if they think a ball is in or out, and the trajectory of the ball and where it landed is then immediately played back on giant screens for everyone to see.

To avoid frivolous challenges, the number that a player can make was limited in the recent Australian Open to two in each set, with an extra challenge allowed if the set went to a tiebreak.

However, if the players challenge was correct, that challenge was not deducted from their allowance.

The system has been accepted with enthusiasm by most of the players, as they can relax in the knowledge that they have not been denied an important point by a bad call from the lines-person or umpire.