Former world number one blasts ‘painfully stupid’ fine for American ATP star
Andy Roddick is as bemused as Reilly Opelka at the fine the world number 20 received after the Dallas Open trophy ceremony this past weekend.
Opelka defeated young compatriot Jenson Brooksby in the Dallas final to secure his third ATP title and first for two years.
While the American will no doubt be happy to have won the event, he was hit with an odd penalty from the ATP soon after.
“Too good,” Opelka sarcastically tweeted as he tagged the ATP alongside an image of his code violation for “headgear worn during awards ceremony.”
Former world number one and 2003 US Open champion Roddick agreed with his fellow countryman on the absurdity of the fine.
“This is a painfully stupid policy by the ATP,” he said retweeting Opelka.
This is painfully stupid policy by the ATP https://t.co/VCMh4tDmRk
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) February 17, 2022
Opelka is no stranger to curious fines as he was handed one of $10,000 at his home Slam last year for an “unapproved” logo on a tote bag he brought onto court.
“I mean, what a joke on the US Open to do that,” Opelka said.
“10K for a pink bag? Come on.”
Opelka remains stateside as he competes in the Delray Beach Open this week, the site of his second ATP title in 2020.
Seeded second there, he faces wildcard Jack Sock for a place in the quarter-finals after the world number 141 overcame Germany’s Daniel Altmaier for just his second tour level victory of 2022.
Fellow Americans Sebastian Korda, Tommy Paul and Stefan Kozlov are already through to the quarter-finals, while Marco Giron, Mitchell Krueger and Brandon Nakashima could yet come through to see six US players into the last eight.
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