The peace and quiet of a small village in sun-drenched Apulia, Southern Italy, is possibly be the farthest thing from the hustle and bustle of New York City. And Fabio Fognini certainly hopes so.
After having been fined and disqualified from the US Open for the crude and misogynistic slur ranted during his first-round match on Wednesday, he has now returned to Italy with his wallet $24,000 lighter and a ruling pending on his head that could seriously affect the rest of his professional career.
After reuniting with his wife, 2015 US Open champion Flavia Pennetta, and their three-month-old son Federico, Fognini released an exclusive interview with Italian pay-tv Sky Sport to apologize for his behavior. In the kitchen of a white-roofed “trullo”, the traditional Apulian dry-stone house with its iconic pointy roof, the n.1 Italian tennis player sat down with Sky TV reporter Lia Capizzi and poured his heart out asking for forgiveness: “You are right, there are no excuses, no mitigating circumstances for what I have done – said Fognini – I am here to say I’m sorry to everyone, to the chair umpire, that has already received my apologies in New York, and to all the people that felt offended by my words, especially all women. I have nothing against women, I have been called sexist, which I am not. I am a family man, I have a wife, a mother, a sister: I have always loved women, I have always respected them, and therefore I am very sorry for what I said”.
“What if a boy at school called one of his classmates the same way you called the referee because he thinks that if Fognini does on TV then it must be ok?” the reporter pressed him. “I know made a terrible mistake, so in addition to renewing my apologies to everyone, I am also available to go to a tennis school or an ordinary school to explain to children what I really think. I know what came out of my mouth, I can’t take it back, but I know I won’t do it again”.
However, this is not Fognini’s first offense: the 30-year-old player has a long history of bad behavior around the world and has already been fined multiple times at other Grand Slam tournaments. “I know this is a character fault of mine. I’m already working with a mental trainer, and I thought that we were on the right track, so I can’t really explain this slip-up. I know I made a terrible mistake, I’m paying for it, and there may be more consequences. But this is the price of making mistakes”.
“When Federico grows up I’ll tell him that I was disqualified because I behaved badly on court. I wasn’t a good example for kids, for those who may see me as an idol, since I am the best-ranked Italian player, and this hurts even more”.
“Should [the Grand Slam Board] decide to ban me from the next Australian Open, I will accept the decision, because actions have consequences, and I need to pay for what I did”.
“Flavia is sorry for the player Fabio, because she knows how hard I work and how much I sacrifice for my career. She did the same for hers, and obtained even better results. But she knows I am not like that in everyday life, and that’s what’s important”.
“How did you feel looking at the video? Did you feel ashamed? Did you cry?” asked Ms Capizzi.
“Yes, I must admit that I did cry when I was alone, because I know that I’m not like that. It hurts to read all the headlines. I am aware of the severity of my mistake, I take full responsibility for it. A decision will be made, and I’ll move on, I’ll turn the page, with this stain on my shoulder that will never go away”.
The finale of the interview is full of hopes for redemption: Fognini interrupts the reporter reaffirming several times that he will never again say anything like that.
“Next time you do something like this…”
“There won’t be a next time”
“Can you promise? To yourself, to those who love you?”
“I know deep down that it won’t happen again”
“You will never repeat those two words?”
“If I could take those words back, I would. But they were said, the stone was thrown, now I need to work hard to make sure it won’t happen again, but I know it won’t happen again”.
The full interview is available in Italian at the link below (geoblocked outside of Italy):
https://sport.sky.it/tennis/2017/09/04/fognini-chiede-scusa-insulti-giudice-us-open-2017.html
