'I'm Going To Sue You': Berrettini Blames Umpire for Forcing Play in Hazardous Conditions

| by Zachary Wimer

Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo Sonego weren't really happy with the conditions that they had to compete in at the 2023 Wimbledon.

After a good start to this year's Championships, the 2023 Wimbledon is drowning in controversies. On Tuesday, multiple matches had to be cancelled due to the rain, and when the organizers had a chance to make up for it with smart scheduling on Wednesday, they did the exact opposite.

Not just did the organizers schedule the matches on the two courts with the roof not efficiently, they forced players on the outside courts to play in the conditions that they weren't comfortable playing in as during the first-round match between two Italians Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo Sonego.

The two met only recently when the 2021 Wimbledon finalist was coming back from a two-month injury hiatus. Although then it was a comfortable two-set win for Sonego, Berrettini is managing to put on a much better performance on the courts where he had so much success in the past.

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After losing the first set 5-7 in a tie-break, the Berrettini won the second set 6-3, before the third set was decided in a tie-break, which he won 9-7. But it wasn't the breathtaking competition that was in the spotlight, but the fact, that neither of the players actually wanted to play.

Court 12 on which the match was played was quite slippery and in the closing stages of the third set, both players fell multiple times, requesting the umpire to stop the match and postpone it. However, the umpire refused as the two battled it out in the tie-break, before Berrettini won it, also thanks to the fact that Sonego slipped on the set point, yet another slip in the tie-break.

That prompted an angry reaction from Berrettini, who complained already when he slipped earlier in the tie-break, asking the umpire if he 'wants him to fall again'. Well, that happened to his opponent and Berrettini wasn't happy as the umpire told him the court is 'still good'.

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"We never fell, we started to fall right now. Why do you think it's happening? Okay, so if I'm going to get injured, I'm going to sue you, okay? I know that you want us to play, you guys are late, we are late, we want to play as well. But I mean, if we're falling everytime, it's dangerous. Look what happened, he fell on set point."

But the umpire insisted that even though the court was 'a little bit more slippery', it was 'still playable' and both players were eventually forced to continue. That was even after Berrettini requested the supervisor to consult the situation.

Sonego was away from the court during his compatriot's conversation with the supervisor, and once he returned, he was surprised to find out that the play will continue. But it didn't take long before Sonego slipped again, this time in the third game of the fourth set, and the match was finally suspended with the scoreline showing 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(7), 1-1, and 15-15 in Berrettini's favour.

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