- Casey Dellacqua guilty of terrible live TV gaffe
- Unfolded in her interview with Madison Keys
- Follows Tony Jones saga with Novak Djokovic
Channel Nine’s coverage of the Australian Open kept making headlines for all the wrong reasons on Thursday night as former local star Casey Dellacqua made a shocking blunder while interviewing Madison Keys.
The cringeworthy on-air gaffe saw Dellacqua incorrectly tell the American star she didn’t have to save a match point against Iga Swiatek just moments after the 19th seed stunned the Pole in an epic three-set match on Rod Laver Arena.
US star Keys secured her place in the women’s title decider against two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka – and many tennis fans wondered if Dellacqua was actually watching the action following her embarrassing blunder.
While answering a question about the gripping third set, Keys asked Dellacqua: ‘Did she [Swiatek] have a match point?’
Dellacqua laughed in response, which was followed by a painful silence.
Ex-doubles specialist Dellacqua then claimed: ‘No, I don’t think she [Swiatek] had a match point.’
Channel Nine’s questionable coverage of the Australian Open continued on Thursday night after former Aussie tennis player Casey Dellacqua incorrectly stated Iga Switaek didn’t have a match point in her semi-final defeat to Madison Keys
The cringeworthy on-air gaffe unfolded just moments after 19th seed Madison Keys stunned the second seed in an epic three set match on Rod Laver Arena
Keys understandably looked confused – and eventually someone off camera confirmed Dellacqua was wrong.
‘Yeah, she had one, to be honest… she had one,’ she said, as Keys nodded.
Dellacqua then tried to cover her tracks, adamant she had to ‘run from the bunker’ to get on-court for the post game interview.
This came despite Switaek’s match point occurring before the 10-point tiebreak.
Dellacqua’s conduct was widely labelled ’embarrassing’ and ‘humiliating’ on social media.
‘How does someone coming to do the on-court interview not know that a player had match point?’ one said on X.
‘Casey Dellacqua did not know if Swiatek had match point…?? Surely there are at least 100 more qualified people to conduct a purposeful post-match on-court interview after a semi-final of a grand slam?’ another stated.
Casey Dellacqua was left red-faced after someone off camera confirmed she was wrong
It follows fellow commentator Tony Jones infamously labelling 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic ‘over rated’ which he later stated was ‘banter.’
Jones eventually issued a public apology to the furious Serbian superstar, who earlier boycotted an interview with the broadcaster, as he felt ‘disrespected.’
And it doesn’t end there – men’s semi-finalist Ben Shelton also slammed Nine’s Open coverage.
‘I’ve been a little bit shocked with how players have been treated,’ he said.
‘I feel like broadcasters should be helping us grow our sport and help these athletes who just won matches on the biggest stage enjoy one of their biggest moments.
‘I feel like there’s just been a lot of negativity. I think that’s something that needs to change.’
That was followed by Roger Rasheed’s failed attempt at a joke while interviewing Ben Shelton, with the American then going on to slam the sorts of questions the host broadcaster has been asking stars after their matches.
