BIEL, December 27, 2015
The men’s final of the National Swiss Tennis Championships last Sunday between Yann Martí and Robin Roshardt ended in uproar. At the score of 6-7, 0-2 Roshardt packed his bags and left the court. According to Swiss newspaper Blick, the Swiss Tennis Federation speaks about an “unworthy final” and evaluates the events as a “scandal”. “These are two players that do not know how to behave. We started to institute proceedings with both of them,” Karin Rosser, one of the tournament’s organizers said.
Roshardt also spoke to the daily newspaper about the happenings. “After every nice point, he laughed at me, insulted me in French and Spanish. He was constantly spitting around on the court, even in my direction,” the 27-year-old from Zurich told.
“I am unaware of any wrongdoing. We have never had a problem and played a lot of times, treating each others with respect,” Roshardt, who was ranked world number 509 in April 2009, said. Last summer, Martí and Roshardt were teammates, playing doubles together for the Tennis Club Froburg. They finally captured the national team title together.
Consequently, Roshardt did not understand what was going on during the final. “He shot at me with his service. I think that he should have been disqualified for this. I played with an inflammation on my food and was in pain,” Roshardt explained and added that he told the umpire that he was unable to continue.
Although Martí should have seeked talks with his opponent, Roshardt wasn’t ready for that. “I am not resentful or angry on him,” the runner-up stated. Martì himself did not comment on the incidents and just announced: “I knew that I was better mentally and physically. And I was like this. He went out of the court. He got a warning, I broke him and he retired. I won and I am Swiss champion. There is nothing more to say.”
It has not been the first time that Martí gets negative attention. The 27-year-old, who reached a career high 200th position, was kicked out from the Swiss Davis Cup team by captain Severin Lüthi, who chose Michael Lammer and not Marti for the first round tie against Belgium. The latter eventually abandoned the squad before the tie. As a consequence, the Swiss Tennis Federation terminated his performance-based contract with Martí.
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