Fabio Fognini was eliminated early from the 2022 edition of Wimbledon after his first round match. The Italian was beaten in 4 sets by the talented Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.
After a rather convincing first set won 7-5, Fognini could not go the distance and lost the 3 remaining sets by 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. It should also be remembered that grass is not the Italian’s favorite surface, and this has been seen throughout his career.
At the end of the match, Fognini and returned to the way the tournament was organized, in particular with the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian players without forgetting the choice of the ATP not to award points for the classification.
The Italian also spoke about the issues surrounding the raise of the prize pool by the organizers, all to ensure that they will have the presence of the best players and that the competition will not be devalued this year.
Fognini’s outburst at Wimbledon
Fognini’s statements, several weeks before the start of the competition, had definitely caused debate. “I congratulated Andrea Gaudenzi on her choice (irony).
You know I don’t have a good feeling on the grass, so I could have taken my family to Formentera (but I came here),” said the Italian player, speaking about the effects of the prize money raised.
The winner of the Master 1000 of Monte-Carlo 2019 also spoke after his defeat in London. “They were all charlatans (the ATP and Wimbledon) and we all came here like fools, when we should have boycotted this tournament.
And then the ATP took over, with this bad decision: that of removing the points from the classification. And that was done without informing us. In short, we came here for an event that does not count”
Wimbledon 2022 has indeed started with a big controversy. First because of the tournament board’s decision to ban all tennis players of Russian and Belarusian nationalities, then with the unexpected increase in prize money.
The ATP, for its part, saying it is showing its disappointment with Wimbledon, has decided that no points will be awarded for this edition, thus unfairly penalizing several players who achieved important results on London lawns last year, and even those who shone this year.
