Fabio Fognini has apologised for making homophobic slurs during his Olympics defeat to Daniil Medvedev.
The Italian lost out in three sets to the second seed in their Olympics match-up on Wednesday, and fell into familiar habits as frustration got the better of him.
He could be heard on court repeatedly saying “frocio” – a well-known Italian homophobic slur – which were directed at himself after failing to make a number of returns.
He, though, says he did not mean to offend anyone hand has apologised.
Writing on Instagram on a rainbow background, Fognini said: “The heat went to my head!
“In today’s match I used a really stupid expression towards myself. Obviously I didn’t want to offend anyone’s sensibilities.
“I love the LGBT community and I apologise for the nonsense that came out of me.”
