Wimbledon 2022: Rafael Nadal apologises to Lorenzo Sonego for displaying poor sportsmanship
Rafael Nadal defeated Lorenzo Sonego in Wimbledon 2022 on Saturday. However, the former was accused of poor sportsmanship by the latter, and he apologised for the same.
FollowRecord 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal of Spain came up with a thumping performance against Lorenzo Sonego of Italy in the third round of the 20-22 Wimbledon Grand Slam, as the former won in straight sets 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. However, the match saw some tensions between both the players, with the latter accusing the former of poor sportsmanship. However, Nadal admitted the same and even apologised to Sonego for doing so. It all happened during the third set when the Spaniard called the Italian to the net to have a word, as the latter labelled it as a distraction.
The altercation between the two began during the third set when one of Nadal’s returns landed on Sonego’s head, while the latter also demanded the light be turned off. As the roof was closed, the Italian got some rhythm, while the Spaniard was frustrated as the delay led him to lose his momentum.
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It was then that Nadal had a word with Sonego on the same, leading to the latter labelling it as ‘poor sportsmanship’, as it ostensibly distracted him. “A player should not call his opponent on the net. You cannot do that at Wimbledon. Nadal should have just had a word with the umpire. He distracted me,” the Italian said following the defeat.
Meanwhile, during the press conference, Nadal apologised and said, “I think I was wrong. I spoke to him in total calmness. I exposed the situation that was happening. If I needed to go back, I wouldn’t do it again. I told the referee before. The referee, one of the bests, was waiting until the change of service to tell him something.”
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“We’re are among colleagues. We see each other every week. There are codes inside a tennis court that must be respected. I believe I was wrong for calling him to the net and telling him the things. I should’ve told him when we switched [serves] or wait until the referee told him,” concluded Nadal.
