There is never a dull moment in tennis with a trio of players being involved in heated confrontations during their matches on the second day of the US Open.
Bernard Tomic was the first to shoot to the limelight after being upset by somebody in the crowd during his loss to Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur. After hearing a series of slurs said to him from the crowd, Tomic’s response triggered a field day for the media at Flushing Meadows.
“I will put my balls in your mouth” and “I will give you some money to make you feel good”. Quotes: Bernard Tomic pic.twitter.com/sxGoyON0MU
— Alex (@tennisguru100) 30 August 2016
After crashing out in the first round of the tournament for the first time in his career, the Australian apologised for his comments during his press conference.
“I apologised to what I said to him,” he said. “He definitely baited me the whole set for me to say that. But I do apologise. If there were people around that heard, yeah, that’s all I can say.
“I think after he left the first set, I think the crowd got happy he left because he was a bit annoying. But it’s okay.”
Not to be outdone by his compatriot, Nick Kyrgios was once again embroiled in controversy during his straight sets triumph over Great Britain’s Aljaz Bedene. The match didn’t get off to the best start for the 14th seed after he received a code violation during the first ten minutes of the match. The umpire issued the penalty after Kyrgios hit the ball in the direction of the line judge, an incident that was heavily disputed by the 21-year-old. Kyrgios’ mood deteriorated later in the match after he collided with a linesman, losing both the point and the game.
‘He’s standing there, why does he not f***ing move?” The livid Australian moaned.
‘He knows I’m running, he just stands there. That’s why you can’t have guys 80-plus being umpires.’
After the roller coaster match, Kyrgios exit the court and refused to shake hands with the umpire.
It wasn’t just the Australian players misbehaving. Italy’s Fabio Fognini has branded the US Open ‘the worst’ grand slam shortly after coming back from two sets down to defeat Georgia’s Teymuraz Gabashvili.
In a bizarre moment during his opening match, Fognini approached one of the court officials and removed their sunglasses. The strange action resulted in the Italian being docked a point. Speaking about his actions after the match, the 29-year-old has insisted that it was done in good humour and slammed the tournament.
“They have their rules. You know, the Americans are different in every way. Of the four Slams, this, as far as I’m concerned, is the worst — for a number of reasons.” He said.
Besides the officials, Gabashvili was also a recipient of Fognini’s rage. The Georgian was grunting loudly between points, prompting heavy criticism from his opponent.
With 12 days remaining of the US Open, it in inevitable that more controversy will erupt at the tournament. The question is who will be next?
