Top-ranked American has to be separated in on-court argument

January 6, 2012   ·   0 Comments

Top-ranked American has to be separated in on-court argument

A match referee had to separate top-ranked American Mardy Fish from Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov during a changeover at a mixed doubles match at the Hopman Cup.

Dimitrov had routed Fish 6-1, 6-2 in a singles match earlier in the day. The two were sniping at each other during play and exchanged testy words during the handshake.

The bad blood continued during the mixed doubles match a few hours later when Fish hit a ball directly at Dimitrov. Later, as the 20-year-old sat in his chair during a changeover, Fish approached him and said a few words. Dimitrov rose out of his seat and started arguing with his opponent. The two were eventually separated by a match referee.

While the conversation became animated at points, it never reached a physical level. Fish appeared to be the most angry when the referee tried to mediate. (A brief video clip can be seen here.) Fish’s back is to the camera for much of the discussion, so it’s hard to decipher what set him off. At one point, Dimitrov nods and says, “and I respect that,” in response to whatever Fish was saying.

The American and Bulgarian teams were in the bottom of their group at the exhibition in Perth, rendering Friday’s tie meaningless. Their mixed doubles match, with paired Fish with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Dimitrov with Tsvetana Pironkova, was shortened to a single pro set should the Bulgarians could catch a flight for Saturday qualifying matches at the Sydney International.

Dimitrov and Pironkova prevailed, 8-5.

By admin