Arthur Fils emerged victorious from his Davis Cup qualifier tie with Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild, but it certainly wasn’t without controversy.
Novak Djokovic withdrew from the Davis Cup qualifiers with injury, with the Serbian sidelined with a torn hamstring.
Djokovic was booed by Australian Open fans following his semi-final defeat to Alexander Zverev, which the former ended early due to the injury.
But plenty of star names have been taking the court for the latest Davis Cup qualifiers, with rising star Fils already making the headlines during the first round.
The Frenchman had advantage at 4-4 in the second set, having won the first 6-1, when his effort at the net was long.
Arthur Fils grateful after controversial Davis Cup qualifier win over Thiago Seyboth Wild
But the umpire ruled the point in favour of Fils, claiming that the ball hit Wild’s racket before landing outside the line.
A bemused Wild remonstrated with the umpire before making his angry feelings known towards his opponent in their post-match handshake.
Fils opted not to mention the controversy in a social media post following the 6-1, 6-4 win, simply writing on Instagram: “A job to finish tomorrow. Thank you for this great atmosphere,” with comments on the post limited.
Remarkably, it wasn’t the only controversial incident, with Wild having also been left baffled and enraged when Fils claimed he called a challenge shortly before going on to win a point.
Destanee Aiava and tennis fans react to controversial Arthur Fils Davis Cup point
The victory came after his compatriot Ugo Humbert began the tie in superb fashion, beating another rising star in Joao Fonseca 7-5, 6-3.
But all of the focus is now on Fils, who has since addressed the issue of whether or not his opponent touched the ball in that controversial point.
“At the end, it was a bit hot, that’s true,” said Fils, as quoted by the Davis Cup website. “I think he didn’t touch the ball on the point that gave me 5-4, which is a fact of play that puts him at a disadvantage.
“But that’s the way it is. I think if it had gone the other way, he wouldn’t have given me the point either. There’s no problem between him and me. We explained ourselves afterwards.”
Many tennis fans have also been sharing their opinions on the matter, with one writing on X: “The French guy knows the ball didn’t touch the Brazilian’s racket, but winning that point is very convenient so he stays quiet. Sportsmanship? Who needs it?”
Another agreed, saying: “Terrible sportsmanship,” but there was also defence for Fils, as one fan noted: “Fils was still on the move so there’s no way he would have known whether it touched Wild’s racket. The umpire did make the call but it was not for Fils to plead with the umpire for Seyboth.”
Australian talent Destanee Aiava also expressed her shock at the incident, writing on X about the handshake in particular: “If someone did this to me”, with the skeleton emoji.
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