Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti says he felt unsettled during his matches in China after making controversial remarks about the crowd which he later apologised for.
At the China Open in Beijing, the world No.9 voiced his frustration about those coughing in the crowd during his match against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, whom he defeated in three sets. At one stage, Musetti appeared to be mocking a person clearing their throat and said in Italian, ‘They cough every three seconds.’ He was then accused of mouthing ‘damn Chinese’ by the state-owned national newspaper The Paper, according to the AFP Press agency.
Following the fallout, Musetti issued an apology in which he said his remarks were directed only at a select few in the crowd and now all Chinese fans. He added that how he expressed himself in court was ‘wrong and inappropriate.’
However, the 23-year-old then voiced his frustration with coughing in the crowd at another tournament in the country this week. At the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday, he asked umpire Adel Nour to tell fans not to cough between his serves. His request was sparked by loud coughing, some of which appeared to be deliberate.
“Come on, (it happens on) every point,” Musetti said.
“I understand a few times … I made a mistake, OK, but this is not possible every point. It’s too much. Say something.”
Musetti went on to lose the match 6-4, 6-2, to Felix Auger-Aliassime and afterwards admitted he created an ‘unfavourable atmosphere’ for himself with his comments. Speaking to Spazio Tennis, the word No.9 said it has been a tough couple of weeks.
“I created this unfavorable atmosphere a little bit myself,” he said.
“This month in China wasn’t easy, I never felt comfortable after what happened. This, in my mind, had an impact even though there were fans on my side. The nerves came from something inside me and it led me astray during the match.”
Musetti’s next tournament is scheduled to be the European Open in Brussels, followed by events in Vienna, and Paris. He is also still in contention of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin later this year.
