ATP Hamburg: Fabio Fognini and Aljaz Bedene in the dispute ballet
A verbal argument between Fabio Fognini and Aljaz Bedene at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Hamburg culminated in an almost two-minute choreography.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: Jul 19, 2022, 08:35 pm
Is it still a discussion between two tennis players or is it already art? Fabio Fognini and Aljaz Bedene dueled at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Hamburg on Tuesday during their first round encounter not only with really exciting tennis, but also at the end of the game with verbose gestures and facial expressions that pointed to the inclined viewer almost seems like a choreographed performance of expressive dance.
The previous tennis duel had ended very close: The Italian beat the Slovenian, who found a place in the main field at Rothenbaum in Hamburg by protected ranking, after 2:27 hours with 6: 3, 3: 6, 7: 6 (5 ) through. Unfortunately, the sound of the TV recording is not clear and loud enough to really appreciate the text of the final scene. However, the stumbling block should have been a controversial service decision against the Laibacher native.
Chair umpire plays along half-heartedly
The dramatic performance, which lasts almost two minutes, is enriched at the beginning by chair umpire Aurelie Tourte (who was only allowed to see the Wimbledon final a few days ago), who tries half-heartedly to separate the two brawlers. Subsequently, however, the Frenchwoman is demoted to an extra in the background.
Exactly how the dispute ended is not captured on video. But an open ending is not uncommon in theater or film either.