Thomaz Bellucci has done what most Brazilian athletes have dared to do and criticised Olympic officials regarding their management of the tennis tournament.
The 28-year-old blasted organisers at the Olympic Tennis Centre for allowing his match against Dustin Brown to take place despite there being strong winds of up to 25km/h.
Proceedings on the second day of the competition were delayed due to high winds. Resuming play, home player Bellucci was the first to play on Centre court against Brown. The match was allowed to commence after receiving approval from officials, however, the wind was still problematic.
“It was almost impossible. I don’t know how they allowed us to play like this. I have never played in these conditions,” Bellucci after the match.
“The wind was so fast and the match became ugly. You just couldn’t take any risks.”
Bellucci’s win in the first round came after his opponent was forced to retire due to rolling his ankle on the court. The world No.56 was trailing 4-6, 5-4, before Brown was forced to quit the match.
Dustin Brown falling down. #CursedOlympics #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/Gr133Xf2TW
— OurNumberOneRF (@Mikno78) 7 August 2016
Shortly after his retirement, Brown went to a nearby hospital to undergo a scan. The results of the scan is yet to be released to the public. Regardless of the German’s dramatic exit from Rio, he thanked his fans for their support on his social media account.
Thx 4 All The Messages… Will Update U Guys ASAP… pic.twitter.com/yFNOZGZqae
— Dustin Brown (@DreddyTennis) 7 August 2016
Brown’s mishap against Bellucci wasn’t the only thing that marred their first round encounter. Throughout the match, the German player was booed by the crowd as they cheered on the home player. Shockingly the unforgiving crowd cheered Brown’s faults and booed when he hit a winner during the encounter.
The Controversial Brazilian crowd might of not been on Brown’s side, but the same can’t be said about his Rio opponent. Speaking to the media shortly after his opening match, Bellucci said he hopes that his ‘good friend‘ on the tour recovers soon.
“I hope Dustin gets better soon. He is a good friend of mine and it’s always very sad to see a friend retire like this. I hope he gets better soon,” he said.
In the second round, the Brazilian will play either 11th seed Pablo Cuevas or Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili.
