Davis Cup umpire smacked by ball 鈥榣eft looking like Rocky鈥
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FRENCH umpire Arnaud Gabas says he was lucky to avoid serious injury after being hit in the face by a ball smashed by Canada’s Denis Shapovalov.
Shapovalov, 17, handed Britain the Davis Cup tie 3-2 when he was disqualified against Kyle Edmund on Sunday for bashing the ball in frustration and inadvertently catching Gabas in the eye.
Gabas was taken to hospital in Ottawa as a precaution after being left with bruising and swelling around his left eye.
No serious damage was found, but Gabas insisted the incident could have been a lot worse.
“I came off the court looking like Rocky Balboa,” Gabas was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. “The video is quite shocking to look at. We have to avoid some balls during the season but this one I had no chance. I feel quite lucky it wasn’t worse. Players can be a bit crazy these days. I could see he was angry and that something was coming but I never thought he would hit me.”
The International Tennis Federation fined Shapovalov US$7,000, rather than the maximum US$10,000, after accepting he had not intentionally struck Gabas after smacking a ball in anger at losing a point.
Gabas said Israel-born Shapovalov, the junior Wimbledon champion, apologized for his actions. “He was remorseful and shocked when he came to apologize,” he said.
In Buenos Aires, Italy dealt defending Davis Cup champion Argentina a first-round knockout on Monday, advancing to the quarterfinals as Fabio Fognini came back from two sets down to beat Guido Pella.
With the two teams tied at 2-2 heading into the decisive fifth match, Fognini, the world No. 45, lost the first two sets on the clay at Parque Sarmiento. But he battled back to beat the 80th-ranked Pella, 2-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Italy will next faces Belgium from April 7-9.
Fognini had some heated exchanges with Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, who was in the front row cheering on Pella. But the Italian downplayed the friction after the match.
“Diego is Diego. There was no problem. If he comes to the locker room, I’ll give him my jersey,” Fognini said.
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