Fabio Fognini isn’t necessarily known for controversy, but he’s not immune to it either, with a minor controversy ensuing after his match against Aljaz Bedene at the 2022 Hamburg Open.
Fognini is widely known as a hugely volatile player whose level can literally go up and down with the flow of the wind. Sometimes, he plays amazing tennis; other times, he doesn’t, and most of the time, fans get to see both sides of the coin.
His match against Aljaz Bedene at the Hamburg Open certainly provided the full Fognini experience. Fans saw some spectacular tennis from him and some not-so-great play, but he was able to win the match in the end.
It was a three-set battle, with the Italian edging out the Slovenian 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5). What ensued after the match was a bit of a run-in between the players as they exchanged some rather passionate words.
Bedene apparently accused Fognini of showing the wrong marks, as they were playing on clay, which does provide that opportunity. Umpires do get off the umpire's chair to check marks, and Bedene thought that Fognini was being a bit disingenuous.
With the final set ending in a tie-break, it’s not impossible that one or two points likely decided the outcome of the match. While the umpire tried to get between them, the exchange never evolved past a very demonstrative discussion, so no further action from the umpire was really needed.
Fognini and Bedene even went back to the court to look at some marks, with Fognini pleading his case. Eventually, nothing major happened, as the players simply parted ways without much animosity.
Before that, they did shake hands, and ultimately, with retirement looming for Bedene, he probably didn’t want things to escalate more than they did.