Bad episode at the Challenger 125 in Naples. Raul Brancaccioborn in Torre del Greco in 1997, number 321 in the ATP rankings (best ranking 121), lost the match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert after having wasted well seven match points at 6-3 5-4. But the worst happened in the stands: with every match point canceled by the French opponent, the public cheered brazenly, creating an unsustainable psychological situation for the host who lost the match without winning a game again, 6-3 5- 7 0-6. The aversion towards the host tennis player would be attributed to the world of betting and the choice of a large group of fans to bet on the Frenchman. Brancaccio himself reported the incident to Corriere della Sera: “They shouted at me ‘double fault, you’re poor. I gambled the point for the bill.”
Brancaccio’s outburst on social media
“I wanted to dedicate this post to all those people who yesterday were rooting, almost from the stadium, against me. Ignorant, useless and shameful people who ruin such a beautiful sport just to win bets and bills. I know that many times silence speaks louder of a thousand words, but in these cases we really need to speak. I was born in Torre del Greco and I am proud to be from Coral, born and raised in this area and I have always tried to raise the name of Naples as high as possible. But forgive me for say that I’m happy not to live there anymore, because you are the example of an ignorant people! Such an important tournament in Naples and cheering against the only Neapolitan in the competition is truly shameful. I am very disappointed in you, but in part I thank you for for allowing me to make noise after what happened yesterday. I thank you because thanks to you we made ourselves recognized and for the umpteenth time we made an impression of myself…”.
Solidarity from Sinner and other Italian tennis players
Brancaccio recounted the hours following the match and the closeness of his fellow countrymen to the microphones of Corriere del Mezzogiorno online: “Many told me that I was right to report this episode and that I had the courage to address this issue. Sinner wrote me a private message and Vavassori also expressed his shame over what happened on social media. Just like Matteo Berrettini and many others were close to me and encouraged me to move forward. However, the ATP must intervene because it is not possible for these things to happen: we tennis players want our sport to be correct and without rude cheering.”
Sinner: “The Big 3 or Big 4 are still at another level compared to me”
