The clock had passed the full laps (2h18min) and now there was only the family photo on the net to close an unforgettable evening. Frances Tiafoe and Jannik Sinner they had given us a spectacular match in the semifinals of the ATP 500 from Vienna where emotion and a good level of tennis were the main ingredients. However, the greeting on the tape makes us see that not everything is so beautiful. The Italian, visibly affected after giving up a match that he had won (3-6, 7-5, 6-2), prefers to quickly end everything and leaves the frame, leaving only the American on his stage.
Before going with the statements, let’s explain where this little dispute comes from. We go to the second set, with an imperial Sinner who dominates the score by 6-3 and 5-2. The game is closed, it is unlikely that such an advantage escapes him, almost impossible considering that a ticket to the final is at stake. But Tiafoe, who is one of those players with a special gift in defeat, decides to leave the skin until the last point and begins to connect with the public. Suddenly, magic appears under the vault of Vienna and what a moment ago was an unthinkable comeback becomes a miracle in the eyes of the public.
An audience devoted to Frances, who does not stop playing with them: looking for them, talking to them, touching them, high-fiving the entire front row of seats, they just need to invite him to the court to accompany him in battle. A series of acts that have nothing to do with Sinner, which will surely detract from his concentration, cause him to become exhausted and which, finally, end up bothering him. “In my opinion, today Tiafoe went too far, has done too much. It is one thing when the player tries to put on a show to put on a bit of a show, but it is quite another when you start to disrespect. I don’t really know what happened out there, I just think that this time it has taken it too far, “said the San Cándido man at a press conference.
Tiafoe: What do I have to do here?!
Sinner: Play your best match of the year. Hit your best shots of the year.
Tiafoe: Done.@FTiafoe | #ErsteBankOpen pic.twitter.com/kx4fUzIabx— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 30, 2021
And no, Sinner is not the type of person who usually gets into these problems when there is a microphone in front of him, but this time he was joined by the extreme impetus of his rival with the bitter feeling of losing a match that was one game away from winning. “There were a lot of moments in the game where I was ready to play and yet I had to wait for Frances to finish the show and be ready. Maybe I should have pushed the chair umpire a bit more to notice and keep the times in order, I don’t know. Now there is no use thinking about this, but I think there are limits that should not be exceededJannik reaffirmed.
TIAFOE’S RESPONSE
Just a few minutes after listening to the Italian, the winner of the match took that mass chair at a press conference. And of course, there were the journalists with the question still hot. Your answer? Cooler than his attitude on the court, of course. “If the crowd is there in the stands it is for a reason, so I understand that I can interact with it. Jannik had his chance to win the match, but then I started playing a great level of tennis, I started having fun on the court. I don’t feel guilty for what happened“Concluded the American. Hopefully this is nothing more than an anecdote between the two of us, it is the only thing we ask for.
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