Italian Open slammed over ‘disgraceful’ decision that affected Casper Ruud & Jaume Munar

Ewan West
Pictured: Casper Ruud, Jaume Munar and Jannik Sinner
Casper Ruud and Jaume Munar with Jannik Sinner inset

Italian Open organisers have come under fire for the very late decision to postpone the match between Casper Ruud and Jaume Munar.

Ruud and Munar were due to play their fourth round match at the Foro Italico on Tuesday, but the schedule was affected by a lengthy rain delay.

The match was scheduled to follow the delayed contest between Tommy Paul and Alex de Minaur on the Grand Stand Arena, with organisers opting against moving it to another available court.

Ruud and Munar were made to wait late into Tuesday night to take the court, only for their match to be moved to 2pm (local time) on Wednesday on the same court.

Jannik Sinner will face the winner of Ruud and Munar’s match in the quarter-finals on Thursday, having beaten Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(2), 6-3 in the last 16 on Tuesday evening.

The Italian star will, therefore, enjoy the advantage of having a rest day on Wednesday while his two potential opponents face off. Sinner holds a 3-0 record against Ruud, while he won his only previous encounter with Munar.

On Tennis Channel, former world No 9 Coco Vandeweghe was asked whether the match should have been postponed so late in the day.

“No. It should have been decided to not only to get it to a different court, but also to keep these men on schedule,” the American said.

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“That’s what we talked about at the start, and the fact that they kept these men this late, this long, it is absolutely disgraceful… for them to not only play to the best of their ability, but to be able to recover for the next round.”

Prior to Rome, Sinner had not played since January due to a three-month suspension for failed doping tests.

The three-time major champion has impressed so far, earning three straight-set wins.

After his victory over Cerundolo, Sinner said: “Yeah, I mean, quarters, it’s a great result, no? Coming back, I just tried to put myself in the best possible position to see what’s happening.

“I mean, I’m glad that today were so many difficult situation. That’s exactly what I need trying to find my rhythm again, trying to find my mental strength again and everything together.

“Yeah, was a great match today. Obviously very happy that I can play at least one more match. Let’s see what’s coming. Tomorrow is a day off, try to recover in the best possible way and hopefully be ready for the next one. For the first tournament, I’m very, very happy.”

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