WIMBLEDON, England—Roger Federer says he is no longer against Hawk-Eye, having been one of the most prominent critics of the replay system when it was first introduced about seven years ago. But the 17-time Grand Slam champion adds that he still doesn’t regard electronic replay, which uses cameras and mathematical calculations to determine the position of a ball, as completely reliable.
“No, what I struggle with is I don't think it's 100 percent accurate. Let's say 99 percent, fine. It's still not 100 percent, in my opinion. I still see calls I don't quite understand,” Federer said upon reaching the second week at Wimbledon. “But I still think it's fine to have it. It's even good to have it, you know, because you don't want matches to be decided maybe—when so much goes into it, don't want to lose at Wimbledon maybe because one bad call or a missed call by someone. So today I'm totally fine with it.”
Federer went so far as to say that matches should be stopped for darkness when Hawk-Eye no longer works due to lack of light. Under current rules, play can carry on until stopped by the umpire or supervisor, regardless of whether Hawk-Eye cameras can pick up the ball.
“What I don't understand, on the other hand, is like if we have Hawk-Eye, why do we keep playing in the nighttime when Hawk-Eye is not available anymore,” he said. “That's where I disagree with supervisors or tournaments, that they push it too far every single time. We've seen it happen every single night in the last few days when I've been watching tennis, 'Oh, Hawkeye is not available,' but the players keep playing. That's exactly maybe when it comes to the crunch, you need it, in my opinion.”