Holger Rune insisted that he just wanted to play tennis after coming under fire at the Madrid Open for rubbing out a mark on the court which his opponent was questioning.
The incident unfolded during the first set of Rune’s 7-6 (1), 5-7, 7-6 (5), loss to Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Fokina challenged a call which was called in with the FoxTenn replay supporting that decision. However, the world No.35 pointed at a mark which indicated that the ball had landed out, prompting umpire Carlos Bernandes to check to see if that call was accurate. Fokina then demanded to speak with the tournament supervisor about the decision. To add to the controversy, the Hawk-Eye system, which isn’t in use at the tournament, said the ball was out.
It was during Fokina’s conversation with the tournament supervisor when Rune decided to rub out the mark on the court. Something that prompted an almighty response from the crowd who then booed him for the remainder of that match. Ball markings on the clay are usually not rubbed out until after a debate over the call has reached its conclusion as a gesture of good sportsmanship.
“I really just wanted to play tennis and not discuss a brand for ten minutes,” Rune told TV2 about the line-calling system.
“It is Hawkeye (Rune meant to say FoxTenn) who decides whether the ball is in or out, so there is not much to do, but again – I just want to play tennis.”
Rune had to contend with constant heckling following the incident and was booed whilst serving. Umpire Bernandes tried to calm down the crowd but was unsuccessful in doing so.
“It’s part of the game. He is a home player. Like I said, I just want to play tennis, but he spent a lot of time discussing that brand (line call) at first. That’s the way it is.” He commented.
There was no mention from the 20-year-old about if he regretted rubbing out the mark due to the backlash he received.
Meanwhile, Fokina has hailed the support he has received at his home tournament. The Spaniard had to recover from a break down in the decider and then failed to serve the match out when leading 5-3. Despite those blips, he held his nerve to prevail in the tiebreak and record his first-ever win over a top-10 player.
“When that happened, the crowd, the people, were more full with me,” said Fokina. “I felt their energy and I was like, ‘I don’t want to go home. I want to win this game. It doesn’t matter if I’m cramping or if I have a lot of tension, but I want to win.’”
Fokina will play Borna Coric in the fourth round on Tuesday.
