In Chile. “It’s a shame that an ATP is played on this track”: the point that went viral and fierce criticism

An issue that sometimes generates controversy in the world of tennis, a sport that requires hitting with speed and precision, is that of strange hits on the playing field. A situation that is sometimes exposed in brick dust, a terrain that requires special care and maintenance, and that the court be regularly used (“stepped”, as they say in the environment) so that the orange soil is well established.

This does not seem to be the case with the main court of the Chile Open, the fourth tournament of the South American tour of slow courts, belonging to the 250 category and played in San Carlos de Apoquindo. Apparently, and although there have already been several days of competition, the conditions are not ideal for the demands of the players, with some very irregular spikes… or worse, as happened in the match between the Spanish Roberto Carballés Baena and the french Corentin Moutet for the first round. Even in the eighth game of the first set, when Carballés was serving 30-40, a delivery from the French player barely hit, and the ball was directly ironed on the brick dust, before the incredulous gaze of the Iberian, an action that went viral on social networks.

In one of the videos broadcast on social networks, the Argentine Francisco Comesaña He had suffered a failed attack against a response from his rival, the Peruvian Ignacio Buse, in one of the duels for the qualification stage.

Some players have already made clear their anger with this situation, and the most eloquent has been precisely Carballés Baena, who felt harmed by the state of the playing field. The Spaniard, 66th in the world ranking, was blunt when expressing: “What do you want me to tell you? That the tournament is shit? That you can’t play on this court?”

In statements to journalist Sebastián Varela, the player born in Tenerife expanded: “It seems to me It’s a shame that an ATP is played on this track, it is dangerous for the players. I hope this tournament is not held again. That’s not tennis, in the end it becomes a raffle (a lottery). You are constantly afraid of getting injured, and on top of that, you have bounces that the ball doesn’t bounce at all. I felt like I could get injured, because every time I was forced, I was afraid to squeeze my leg because it would sink.” Tired of this situation, the Spaniard called the Chilean ATP supervisor at one point, and He asked to be moved to another court.But it was in vain.

Moutet, the winner of that match, was more diplomatic: “It’s not the best court in the world, but I come from playing futures. I remember when I started tennis, the courts were much worse, without new balls. Here the conditions are good. I’m honest: it’s not the best court, but it’s the same for both players, and we have to do our best.” The Frenchman, 140th in the ranking, entered the tournament from qualification; In Argentina he had played with losses in the qualifications of the Córdoba Open and the Argentina Open.

Another Spaniard, Pedro Martínez (96th) offered another criticism: “The track is a little soft. There are times when you put your leg in and make a hole, and you have to stop to fix it. It gets uncomfortable and dangerous, because you can get your foot stuck, like what happened to me in a fall.”

The state of the center court of the Chile Open had this Tuesday, when the Brazilian Joao Fonsecawho received an invitation after his great performance at the Río Open, hooked his ankle at the back of the court and suffered a heavy fall in his match against the Argentine Thiago Tirante, although he was able to continue playing. Finally, Tirante won 7-5 and 7-6 (7-3) and advanced to the second round, in which he will face the Frenchman Moutet.

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