Austin has seen plenty of matches that seemed to turn on a bad call. Just two years ago at the Open, Serena Williams had a good call overruled by the chair umpire in a quarterfinal match against Jennifer Capriati and suffered a complete meltdown, eventually losing the match.

Then, there was no recourse except to yell and scream and stomp and pout and let the call destroy her game. This year, she and other players will be able to challenge the call.

If you’ve watched the Open on CBS in the past couple of years, you’ve seen the system at work. Using eight to 10 cameras, it captures with utter clarity and in super slow motion the exact spot a ball hits, leaving virtually no doubt as to whether it was in or out.

At the Open, players will have two challenges. If they’re right, they keep both challenges. If they’re wrong, they lose one, meaning no player can make more than two unsuccessful challenges of calls.

Once a challenge is made, the shot will be replayed on the video boards high above Arthur Ashe stadium and on a display at the umpire’s chair. Most challenges should be settled in as little as five seconds, and none will drag on like an NFL instant replay challenge.

“It won’t disrupt the flow of the match,” Austin said. She said at the NASDAQ in Florida, it provoked new levels of audience participation. Instead of whistling at calls that were perceived to be bad, fans urged the players to challenge it. In New York, the crowd urgings could take on epic proportions, she said: “They’re the most passionate fans anywhere.”

Because of the limited number of challenges, Austin sees players using them strategically, perhaps letting an early call go but using it in a 4-4 set that will decide the match. Martina Hingis used one of hers at the NASDAQ on the match point that beat her; she didn’t think it was a bad call, but figured she may as well be sure.

And that’s the whole idea — to be sure. Given the vast amounts of money available and the prestige of a major, it only makes sense to give a little help to linespersons who have to call serves coming in at 140 m.p.h. and ground strokes that exceed 100.

The system is pricey — $80,000-$100,000 per court. But the Australian Open will probably use it next year and other big tournaments are probably going to follow suit. It’s good for the players, says Austin, and good for the fans.

“We’re so averse to change in tennis,” she says. “But when change does come, we get used to it very quickly.”

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