Federer: Hawk-Eye must be scrapped

The Swiss world No1 was driven to distraction and was heard to swear as a line-call went against him on his way to his fifth consecutive men's singles title.

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Passion play: Roger Federer shows his emotions against Nadal

Federer, who has now won 11 Grand Slams, was so incensed during his epic five-set victory over Rafael Nadal yesterday that television viewers heard him shout "sh*t" and claim the Hawk-Eye was "killing him" and should be turned off.

All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie promised Federer today that an investigation into the use of the technology - which relies on a series of cameras to calibrate where a ball lands - would now be instigated, although he insisted that initial tests had shown the system to be working.

Ritchie said: "We will be conducting a review of the system following this year's championships. The International Tennis Federation (the sport's governing body) have already checked Hawk-Eye decisions during this year's championships and verified the results.

"Before it was introduced this year for the first time, we carried exhaustive testing of the system to ensure it would do the job. It passed all those tests."

French Open organisers refused to use the system at Roland Garros this year and Wimbledon does have the option of scrapping it next year.

The players did not like the fact that only two courts (Centre and One) had the system in operation.

Federer fears he is fighting a losing battle and fully expects the system to remain at Wimbledon and it will be used at next month's US Open and again in Australia next year.

Federer said: "What can I say? If I'm going to go against it, people will always say he doesn't agree whatsoever, I don't know how they developed this machine, if they took all possibilities into account, like the way the ball travels, the way it bounces, 3D, the whole thing.

"I told the umpire I was happy Nadal was going to challenge because I knew the ball was out. Then to see that it was in on a 30-All point, which was such a huge point, I was shocked, of course, that it was inside.

"But, you know, it doesn't matter what I think about it anymore. It's in place and that's the way it is. I was just frustrated because I got broken first up and then to be broken this way was very irritating.

"I was like, all of a sudden, anything that is challenged now is certainly going to go against me - you feel like things are just not working out for you. So it took me a few games to kind of forget about it and I was ready for the fifth set, thank God. So in the end, it was okay."

Football is hoping Hawk-Eye, already familiar to cricket fans, will soon help referees rule on when a ball has cross the goal line, with Reading to host trials of the technology at their training ground this season.