We are used to perfection during a tennis match to heat up the court, but that wasn’t the case with the first-round mixed doubles match during the 2020 Australian Open. The match between Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jamie Murray and No. 1 seeded pair Barbora Strycova and Marcelo Melo got heated because of an argument in the second game of the first set.

What Happened

10-Minute Argument Delays Australian Open Mixed-Doubles Match

It’s game 2 of the first Australian Open set, Murray serves at 30:30, and Mattek-Sands raises her hand to challenge a call during play…only to get no response from the umpire. Strycova and Melo eventually lost the point. They went to the umpire and claimed Strycova’s gesture was a hindrance to which he agreed and awarded them the point.

Mattek-Sands and Murray, of course, weren’t happy with this development and also went to the net to join in the argument. Heated words were exchanged on both sides, and the umpire was forced to call in a tournament official. At one point, the players were almost in each other’s faces. After more than 10 minutes of intense arguments, Mattek-Sands and Murray were allowed to challenge the original call (which the American had originally signaled). Strycova had a very emotional reaction to this ruling and slammed her racket in her fit of rage, which “won” her booing from the Australian Open audience.

10-Minute Argument Delays Australian Open Mixed-Doubles Match

The hawkeye system proved Mattek-Sands was indeed right, and the ball had landed out.

What Followed

The American-British pair went on to lose the opening Australian Open set, but they came back strong to win the match in a thrilling three-set saga. They managed to take the victory right under Strycova and Melo’s noses with 10-7 in the tiebreaker. The top pair was knocked out by 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-7).