Scandal created by former Australian Open champion at Rome Masters: Crossing with fans

The first round of the Rome Masters was the scene of a controversial incident involving a tennis player. Sophia KeninThe former 2020 Australian Open champion during his recent match against the Italian Lucia Bronzetti, appeared before his people at Center Court. However, despite the fact that he won by one score 6-3, 6-2, Kenin faced tense moments with both match officials and the public.

With the American losing a break point early in the first set, the tension began. He expressed concern about the conditions of the playing surface, it was very wet due to rain and humidity. On the other hand, the protest was not well received.

“The field is not unplayable”The response he received from the referee was to uphold the decision before the match supervisor intervened, assuring Kenin that the game would be stopped “immediately” if conditions became unsafe.

After being instructed to continue the match, the situation became more tense when the 25-year-old tennis player, visibly frustrated, slapped her towel on her tennis bag and faced boos from the audience. “You stupid people!”he exclaimed, returning to the court with a fighting spirit.

However, their discomfort did not end with those protests. After her opponent lost a game, the WTA No. 58, still upset, whistled at the audience and shouted: “Screw you!”Addresses supporters of local favourite, Bronzetti.

Due to bad weather, she finally ran out of time to prove she belonged in Moscow The match was stopped for a while With the same rain that Ken had warned about, this gave some justification to his initial complaints. Recovering from his rough patch, Kenin cruised to a straight-sets victory to book his place in the second round against Tunisian star Ounes Jaber.

This kind of interaction between athletes and fans is not new in Italian competition. It is worth remembering the 2023 incident he experienced Andy MurrayAnd he was booed by the public when competing against the Italian Fabio Fognini.

In that case, The Englishman questioned an umpire’s decision Mohammed Lahyani unleashed a rebuff from the arena. Later, the experienced tennis player expressed his frustration on social networks with a message that reflected the tension experienced: “A stadium full of Italians cheering and whistling, I thought I was trying to take a point from Fabio because Mo couldn’t read a score right, cheers mate.”