© Fiona Goodall / Stringer Getty Images Sport
A week full of controversy on the ATP Tour ends! And not only because of what happened to Andrey Rublev.
The match in Santiago between the home player Nicolas Jarry and Corentin Moutet did not end in the best way, as he managed to snatch a very heavy victory against his South American opponent.
The French player, with two splendid tie-breaks, secured himself the semi-finals of the ATP 250 tournament, even overcoming the noisy cheering against him, due to the presence of a Chilean athlete on the other side of the net.
At the end of the match the two greeted each other with the traditional handshake, but they had something to say to each other about what had happened on the court. Above all, the 28-year-old didn’t really like the attitude of the young Frenchman after the match point, who cheered and almost provoked the fans present in the stands.
Moutet told his story to Clay Tennis: “He called me pathetic and I don’t know why, I behaved well. There were a lot of people against me who whistled and made noise when I served. So I guess I didn’t do anything, nothing pathetic especially. I think I survived, I played well. You should ask him why he said that. We’re not exactly the best friends on the Tour, in fact I wouldn’t know because I don’t know him well.”
Below is what happened after the final point, in a video released on social networks by Tennis TV.
Moutet masterclass 🃏@moutet99 defeats home favorite and top seed Nicolas Jarry 7-6 7-6 💥#chileopen pic.twitter.com/wSN2R7AiaR
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 2, 2024
The controversies against Santiago
Arthur Fils lashed out harshly against the board of the Chile Open in Santiago, cursing the organizers of the tournament, who according to many tournament participants were guilty of having prepared an unworthy court. The Frenchman questioned the supervisor’s ability to judge the appropriateness of the playing conditions, shouting at him.
“How do you know? Tell me, how are we doing? Hell. This is the worst thing! Don’t shout about what? Are you an athlete? I’m asking you, please answer. Are you an athlete? Then how do you know whether it’s possible to play or not on this field?. How do you know? Man, I told you before this tournament. I told you before this tournament. What happened now? What happened now? Answer my fucking question, what is happened now?” he told.
As we told you in an article we published yesterday (you can read it here) Roberto Carballes Baena also criticized the conditions of the Santiago tournament.
“This is not tennis, in the end this becomes bingo. With the constant fear of getting injured and with terrible bounces… and sometimes the ball doesn’t even bounce! I had the feeling that I could get injured. Every time I was forced, I was afraid to tighten my leg because it kept sinking, in fact I ended up with back discomfort
I think it’s a shame that an ATP is played on this court, I think it’s dangerous for the players. Let’s hope this tournament isn’t held never again. What do you want me to tell you, that the tournament is crap? That you can’t play on the court?” he said to clay.
Arthur Fils terribly upset with the court in Santiago. He insults the supervisor and receives only one warning for obscenity
What would say Rublev pic.twitter.com/51sttCz9Mo— Héctor Cancino (@hcancinosalas) March 2, 2024
Andrey Rublev shouts at a line umpire
What happened at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the final part of the match between Andrey Rublev and Alexander Bublik was sensational. The Russian, after losing the break lead in the decisive set, began to get nervous and show his dissatisfaction continuously.
At 5-5, however, the situation degenerated and Rublev approached one of the line umpire shouting something in Russian for a wrong call. During the changeover, two line umpires approached the referee and also asked the tournament supervisor.
The second umpire communicated the serious words that Rublev would have addressed to his colleague, resulting in his immediate disqualification. According to what the person in question stated, Rublev’s insults would have been truly serious. The umpire, with the help of the Supervisor, ended the match one step away from the tie-break by disqualifying the Russian.
👇 Two things can be true at once:
– Andrey Rublev is, by almost all accounts, one of the NICEST players out there, with a good heart, and someone who I am a fan of personally.
– What he did today was over the line, not that he is the only one that acts like that – because he… pic.twitter.com/Yw6zgojM4s
— Olly 🎾🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) March 1, 2024
