Andy Murray made sure to make his thoughts heard after the first-round incident at the 2023 Italian Open in Rome.
After a triumphant run in Aix-En-Provence at an ATP Challenger event, Murray entered the 2023 Italian Open draw with high hopes, but his first-round opponent was a very difficult one as it was the home crowd favourite Fabio Fognini.
Although it was already quite difficult for Murray because of playing an Italian in the capital with a full stadium behind him, one situation in the first set made it even harder as Mohamed Lahyani made a wrong call after Fognini's lob.
Even during the match, the Scot was 100% sure that the ball was out as he kept repeating that to the umpire. When Lahyani came to check the mark initially, he said: "The linesman called it good, there's a little bit here, it's just touching there," pointing to a spot on the line which was touched by the ball in his opinion.
Murray couldn't believe what the umpire said as he was sure that the ball will be called out, saying: "You can see the ball mark there mate. Mohamed, look, how can you see that ball from there being in? How is it possible?"
Although the umpire already left the place and returned to his chair, Murray wasn't happy with the decision as he approached him to say: "You know, you've got that wrong. Mohamed, you know, you've got that wrong."
And as the replay later showed, the former world no. 1 was right as the ball was clearly out and he was initially robbed off a point, which could have contributed to the fact that he lost the first set.
After the match, Murray noticed the video of the whole situation on social media, and he wanted to share his point of view as it wasn't just a situation that made it tricky but also the fact that he was playing against an Italian in Rome, and eventually losing.
"Stadium full of Italians booing and whistling, thinking I’m trying to cheat Fabio out of point all because Mo couldn’t read a mark properly. Cheers mate."
0 Comments