BREAKING: Fabio Fognini Defaulted Following Verbal Abuse at Barcelona Open 2021

Fabio Fognini’s notoriously short fuse cost him his second-round tie at the Barcelona Open on Wednesday as the veteran Italian star was sent packing by the chair umpire for repeated misdemeanors despite being officially warned.

Routed 0-6 in the opening set by Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles, the current World No. 27 was just about staying in the hunt having brought himself level at 4-4 in the second set when another abusive outburst cost him his hopes of progressing to the next round.

Fabio Fognini disqualified from Barcelona Open for exaggerating a verbal abuse

Fognini had already been cautioned and warned for previous violations on this score, but it clearly didn’t prompt the Italian into putting a leash on his runaway temper.

Deemed to have exaggerated his verbal abuse even after carrying an official reprimand, he was promptly dismissed from the field by the chair umpire.

It was turning out to be a faltering, error-strewn match for Fognini, and had it run its course, he would, in all likelihood, have lost.

With the unforced errors piling up against his name, the Italian was getting increasingly frustrated and the anger boiled over on occasions, drawing censure from the chair umpire. However, matters came to a head at 4-4 in the second set when the World No. 27 let loose a fresh volley of abuse and was summarily expelled from the contest.

Fabio Fognini is the 10th player since 2000 to have defaulted a tie this way

Turns out, Fognini is the 10th player since the year 2000 to have defaulted or forfeited a match this way.

In another similar incident that happened recently, Bosnian tennis star Damir Dzumhur was disqualified from a qualifier clash for the Mexican Open after remonstrating with the chair umpire over a disputed call and allegedly threatened to inflict bodily harm on him.

Trailing 5-6 in the first set of the match against Dutchman Botic Van de Zandschulp, the Bosnian stormed off the court after a line call went against him.

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However, the most high-profile incident came last year when current World No.1 Novak Djokovic was disqualified from the US Open for accidentally hitting a line judge with a tennis ball.