It is more than three decades since an incredulous John McEnroe uttered his most famous line: “You cannot be serious”. Directed towards the umpire, Edward James, during Wimbledon in 1981, the American was livid at a line call that went against him. “Chalk flew up,” he continued. The chalk is long gone and so, largely, have the disputes thanks to the introduction of Hawk-Eye, which is in its ninth year of use here.
When it was introduced there were fears was that it would make the line judges redundant. But while umpires may be reluctant to overrule, knowing the technology can do the job if a player chooses to challenge, line judges continue to do a hugely important job.