Fabio Fognini adds to Napoli Cup drama as he puts ATP tour on blast
Fabio Fognini has called out the ATP tour after his second round match in Naples was suspended soon after play began.
The Italian took to the court past 8pm local time against top seed Pablo Carreno Busta on Thursday. However, after a double break for the Spaniard lead 3-0 the supervisor suspended play due to dangerous court conditions.
Fognini was playing his second match of the day having defeated France’s Hugo Grenier earlier. He was clearly uncertain about the court surface before commencing his contest with Carreno Busta.
“Tonight I took to the court for my second match of the day,” Fognini began on his Instagram story. “And at the end of the warm-up I asked the supervisor to intervene because I wanted him to check the conditions of the court.
“It was very slippery and nevertheless I was denied this possibility. The supervisor showed up after two games and then stopped the match after the third game. Why this delay?
“This is a serious shortcoming of the ATP tour in a week which is already very complex.
“See you tomorrow. I’m waiting for you all on the court!”
Earlier on an outside court, Corentin Moutet retired from his match with Miomir Kecmanovic citing what he felt were unsafe playing conditions to the umpire. His first round match with Luca Nardi was also suspended in similar circumstances to the Fognini match with Carreno Busta.
Naples R2: Another day, another story from Naples. This time, Corentin Moutet ret. vs. Miomir Kecmanovic 3-5.
Both players complained wrt the court condition, esp. for being slippery. ⚠️ Also notice Moutet threw his racquet as well. Reee.
🎥 Naples feedpic.twitter.com/cO4kZ0Nt9T
— stateofsport21 // raz (she/her) (@eretzsport022) October 20, 2022
The Napoli Cup, normally an ATP Challenger event, has a one-year tour licence as one of the tournaments to replace the Covid-cancelled Chinese swing. The event has struggled with a myriad of problems with the court surface, with pre-tournament qualification delayed and play suspended multiple times due to the wet court surface.
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