Tennis star accuses 'horrible' fans of spitting on him in French Open defeat

Daily Mirror

6 days ago

Miomir Kecmanović crashed out of the French Open on Wednesday and the furious Serbian rounded on the racuous crowd following his defeat to home favourite Quentin Halys
Miomir Kecmanović accused fans at the French Open of spitting on him during his second round defeat to home favourite Quentin Halys. Despite taking the first set, the Serbian fell to defeat against Halys.
The Frenchman won the final three sets in succession to progress to the next round. The match was played on court 14 at Roland-Garros, which is semi-buried and holds 2,200 spectators.
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The configuration of the arena means that the fans are virtually on top of the players. With a Frenchman playing, those fans were even more partisan than normal and that spilled over into anti-social behaviour.
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Kecmanović has slammed the actions of some members of the crowd. The 25-year-old even claims to have been the victim of a spitting attack from one fan watching the match.
"The atmosphere was horrible for the game, it was a terrible feeling. It probably helped him, it wouldn't be like this if they weren't there," he said. "Here, it's more noticeable than on other courts: everyone is close, everything resonates.
"On a bigger court, you would hear it too, but not to that extent, and people aren't as close. They can't spit on you or shout things at you. I've been spat on. It's a local player opposite, I understand, no problem with that. But here, it's indecent."
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While he was left furious with the behaviour of the crowd, Kecmanović admitted he should have played better. He spurned 14 break point chances as he crashed to a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 7-5 defeat.
"I didn't really play the best, but I had my chances, which unfortunately I didn't use. And he guessed everything he could, so it was him," the Serbian added. "Somehow it was always there somewhere, I constantly had break points.
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"I worked my serve OK, but I didn't manage to do anything more drastic with his. And in that break he played great, pressed when he had the opportunity. What should I do, that's how it was today, I couldn't change anything when he was hitting.
"I did, but I quickly gave up on that idea. If I'd gone inside on the first one, I wouldn't have made it back the way I did. And on the second one, the bounce was high, so I didn't have much of a choice."
It is the second year in succession a player has reported a spitting incident, with David Goffin the victim last year during his match against French star Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, which also took place on court 14.
In response Roland-Garros chiefs banned alcohol in the stands midway through the Grand Slam. That ban was in place from the start of this year's tournament, with a warning sent that fans would be removed if they misbehaved.
"It will be fully renewed this year. You can obviously consume in the aisles. But once you're on a court, that's it. And if we notice any incidents, we don't hesitate to evacuate spectators," French Open director Amélie Mauresmo told Ouest-France.
"I also think that the post-Covid period has given people the desire to express themselves differently and more fully, to let go. And not just at sporting events."