This match between Thanasi Kokkinakis and Fernando Verdasco wasn’t that easy.
First the Spaniard had a heated exchange with Nick Kyrgios on tweeter as the Aussie was mocking Fernando about his past matches against his compatriots (the Spaniard lost the last 6 contests against Australians).
What happened during the match
Apparently, Verdasco was continuously disturbed by someone that was on the court-side especially in between his serves. Fernando complained to the umpire and Kokkinakis was furious when he said that that person was his father.
“What I cannot accept is that the guy behind is talking in between the first and second serve,” Verdasco commented.
“I know how it is, I’ve been playing professionally for 15 years, I’m not trying to disrespect him or cut his rhythm or anything, but what I cannot do is not stand up and say anything. I cannot stay quiet if I cannot serve.”
Fernando didn’t think that this man was Thanasi’s father, but then the Australian went ballistic when it was confirmed that it was his dad to cause the disturbance.
“I didn’t mean to disrespect you, I was talking to him,” Verdasco added
“That’s my dad, it’s my dad so it’s affecting me”, Kokkinakis replied
“No, it’s not your dad, it’s the guy on the left, it’s not your dad, sorry Thanasi, it’s not your dad,” Verdasco said.
When the Australian asked to point at the man, Kokkinakis replied: “Yeah, that’s my f*ckin’ dad!”
“That’s your dad? Well, I’m sorry, I thought it was your coach. But even if he is your dad, I mean, I’m sorry,
F*ck, he was talking to me through the first and second serve, you know how this is”, Verdasco concluded.
Finally, the Spaniard won the match in 3 sets and, needless to say, the handshake was extremely cold.
— Ricky Dimon (@Dimonator) March 27, 2018
