Shanghai, October 9: An irritated Andy Murray accused Fabio Fognini of "hindrance" in their fiery second-round clash at the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday (October 8).
Three-time Shanghai champion Murray was annoyed by a loud noise, which he claims was made by Fognini, when he had a volley at the net for a 15-30 lead at 5-5 in the third set.
The Briton went on to break Fognini for a second chance to serve out the match, but at the changeover the pair were involved in a heated discussion.
When Murray complained about the noise to chair umpire Fergus Murphy and Fognini attempted to interject, the three-time major champion told his opponent to "shut up".
Murray v Fognini was... spicy 😳#RolexSHMasters pic.twitter.com/HNlpsDoaCF
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 8, 2019
Murray was unable to close out the victory and Fognini, who had earlier been handed a code violation for hitting a ball into the stand and throwing his racket at a court-side chair, had the last laugh by sealing a 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-6 (7-2) triumph.
Asked about the incident, Murray said: "I had a volley on top of the net. Someone made a noise, I didn't know who made the noise.
"I looked in the direction of where the noise came from. He (Fognini) then told me, 'Stop looking at me, what are you looking at me for?' and I was like, 'I was just about to hit a shot and someone made a noise.'
"He was then telling me to stop looking at him. Normally when someone shouts during the middle of a point, which is pretty rare something like that happens, he told me to stop complaining, to have a sense of humour, that when you have a volley on top of the net you're not going to miss it.
"Well I know I'm not going to miss it but I wanted to know where the sound came from. It came from him, which you're not allowed to do, it's against the rules, it's hindrance, you shouldn't do it.
"He said I should have a sense of humour about it, but I would say in the moment neither of us were in a joking, laughing kind of mood. That was the issue."
Find the best IPL odds at 10Cric! Bet on all matches directly from your mobile phone.
Play casino in India at 7Jackpots, and enjoy real money games with fast and secure withdrawal options.