‘It’s a joke’ – Former top 20 ATP pro denied wildcard for home tournament retirement
Andreas Seppi has claimed that he was denied a wildcard and the chance to finish his career at an Italian ATP event.
The 38-year-old, who peaked at 18th in the ATP rankings, recently announced he would retire from the tour this season. Currently ranked 301st in the world, Seppi hoped for a wildcard into either of the ATP 250 events held in Italy this month. But Seppi has revealed via social media that the Italian Tennis Federation (FIT) did not oblige for either tournament.
“I would have loved to play in the Florence or Naples tournament for my farewell to professional tennis,” he wrote on his Instagram story. “But unfortunately the Italian Tennis Federation did not allow me to, saying that ‘giving a wildcard to a retiring player would have been a waste.”
The Firenze Open took place in Florence last week before the Tennis Napoli Cup this week. Seppi lost in the first round of qualifying for Florence to Mikael Ymer. ATP colleague John Millman spoke out about the ‘pretty pathetic’ situation put upon the Italian.
Andreas Seppi not getting a wildcard into a tour event in Italy to end his career is a joke. The guy has had a brilliant career, represented his country at Davis Cups and Olympic Games and the Italian Federation can’t give a WC? Pretty pathetic.
— John Millman (@johnhmillman) October 17, 2022
Seppi turned pro in 2002 and from 2005 Wimbledon to the Australian Open 2022 competed in 66 consecutive Slam main draws. That streak is third in the Open Era among men, only trailing Spaniards Fernando Verdasco (67) and Feliciano Lopez (79). He claimed three titles in his ATP, one on each tour surface in Eastbourne (grass, 2011), Belgrade (clay, 2012) and Moscow (hard, 2012).
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