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Stanislas Wawrinka falls victim to a major refereeing mistake in his Shanghai defeat against Flavio Cobolli

In the second round of the Shanghai Masters 1000, Stanislas Wawrinka fell victim to a scoring mistake by umpire Carlos Bernardes. This error came at a crucial moment in his three-set loss to Flavio Cobolli. At 0-1 in the third set, Wawrinka, serving at 15-0 after Cobolli missed a backhand, heard the umpire correctly announce the score.

However, after a brief pause where Bernardes requested electrolytes for Cobolli, the match resumed. Cobolli won the next point, but Bernardes incorrectly announced the score as 0-30 instead of 15-15.

Wawrinka managed to win the next point, which should have made the score 15-30. But the mistake wasn’t noticed by anyone, and the score was recorded as 15-40. Cobolli then broke the Swiss’ serve, taking a 2-0 lead in the final set.

In reality, Wawrinka should have only faced a break point at 30-40. This critical break of serve was the only one in a match that had seen both previous sets decided by tiebreaks.

Despite the error, neither Wawrinka nor Cobolli, nor their teams, seemed to notice the mistake. Wawrinka didn’t protest, and the match continued without interruption. Cobolli went on to win the match 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 6-3, benefiting from the incorrect scoreline at a crucial moment.

This wasn’t the first time Wawrinka experienced such an issue. In a 2014 match against Roger Federer at the ATP World Tour Finals, Federer also lost a game after a similar scoring confusion. Though the 20-time Grand Slam champion went on to win that match, the mistake in this recent game against Cobolli was far more significant.

Flavio Cobolli set to meet ‘idol’ Novak Djokovic in Shanghai

In the final match of the day, Flavio Cobolli narrowly defeated Stanislas Wawrinka to book a third-round clash with Novak Djokovic. Cobolli secured a 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 6-3 victory in his debut at the Shanghai Masters, despite Wawrinka firing 17 aces in their first-ever meeting on the ATP Tour. Going into the match, the Italian spoke highly of the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

Flavio Cobolli and Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic has been my idol since I started playing tennis. I used to watch his videos and matches, and even now I fall asleep watching his best shots. I want to enjoy every moment.

Flavio Cobolli in his post-match interview

This win marked Cobolli’s 18th deciding-set triumph of the season, the most on the Tour. The Italian, ranked No. 30 in the ATP standings, continues to enjoy a successful year. The 22-year-old now holds a 34-25 record for the season, showing impressive consistency.

Djokovic, on the other hand, played his second-round match against Alex Michelsen earlier in the tournament. Heavy rain in Shanghai has disrupted the schedule, causing challenges for players when it comes to rest and recovery between matches.

The rain delays could affect Djokovic, who already struggled with form in his opening match. With less time to find his rhythm, the 36-year-old Serbian might face a tough test against the in-form Cobolli.