Sensors on hard courts offer foolproof line calls

A system which could offer 100 per cent accurate line calls on hard courts will be used for the first time at the Stockholm Open in November.

A system which could offer 100 per cent accurate line calls on hard courts will be used for the first time at the Stockholm Open in November.

The tournament's organisers said yesterday a sensor embedded in the lines of the hard court will register the ball hitting the line, sending a signal through to headphones worn by the line judges. The surface of the ball will be prepared with a conductive electric material which will not affect its flight but will ensure the sensor only picks up the ball hitting the line, not, for example, the players themselves.

"This system has a big advantage for the audience as they will be able to see the results on large television screens," said the tournament director, Per Hjertquist.

The system has been developed in Norway and can be used on both existing courts and newly constructed ones.

Carlos Moya advanced to the second round of the ATP Hamlet Cup in Long Island, New York, defeating his fellow Spaniard Albert Portas 6-4, 6-3 in a match filled with unforced errors.

Moya, the 1997 Hamlet Cup winner, failed to find his mark early on, but took control in the first set thanks to an unusually powerful first serve. He will now play another Spaniard, Alex Corretja, who won his fourth tournament of the year on Sunday by beating Andre Agassi in Washington.

Also advancing into the second round was the German Alexander Popp, after an easy 6-2, 6-4 victory over Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty.

South Africa's Amanda Coetzer and Belgium's Dominique van Roost advanced to the second round of the WTA Pilot Pen in Connecticut - each winning their first-round matches 7-6 , 6-4. The fifth seed Coetzer overcame Karina Habsudova, of Slovakia, while the sixth seed Van Roost beat Bulgaria's Magdalena Maleeva.