Former world No 1 Andy Roddick has slammed the ATP after it handed a bizarre fine to Reilly Opelka following the Dallas Open. Opelka defeated Jenson Brooksby in the tournament’s final but landed himself in hot water during the trophy presentation.
An entertaining match saw the American beat countryman Brooksby 7-6 7-6 in Dallas on February 13.
But the world No 23 has now revealed a strange fine he received for his actions during the presentation.
Opelka tweeted a code violation record sheet that stated the offence was ‘headgear worn during trophy presentation.’
Further down, the piece of paper reads: “Mr. Opelka chose to keep his hat on during the prize presentation ceremony.”
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“Too good @atptour,” Opelka sarcastically tweeted with a picture of the fine. The giant 24-year-old added a clapping-hands emoji but appeared to crop out the part that showed how much money he had been set back.
And fellow American Roddick has slammed the fine.
“This is painfully stupid policy by the ATP,” the 39-year-old wrote.
Asked in the replies to his tweet if he ever received a similar fine, Roddick continued: “Not once. Didn’t even know it was a rule. Maybe it’s changed since I stopped but it’s a really dumb/useless rule.”
“It’s one thing to serve well and have a nice motion and hit your spots, but you have to be smart and think it through. Brooksby is a good returner, and you have to be smart.”
“I’m disappointed that I didn’t get it done today, but it has been a great week,” defeated finalist Brooksby added.
“I’m very proud of how I played. It was a tight match (today) and could have gone either way.
“There will be other opportunities, and I’m just going to continue to work and get better.”
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