Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, runner up at Washington Open last Sunday, is scheduled to play against Jakub Mensik today at the round of 32 of Canadian Open, starting at 16:00 BST, 17:00 CEST. That's 11:00 AM local time, the only match in the competition that starts that early tomorrow, the rest kicking off an hour and a half later.
The Spanish player sent a harsh statement on social media, complaining about the situation. "Today I want to express my disappointment and anger with the ATP. Tomorrow, all the matches start at 12:30, except for ours, which starts at 11:00. We're an hour away from the club, which forces us to get up early to be able to arrive in good condition. We asked for it to be changed, but the response was that everything is already sold out: tickets, TV... and that it can't be changed."
"Once again, it's clear that we players are not being taken into account. Today it was a few of them, tomorrow it's my turn, and starting the day after tomorrow everyone will play again at 12:30. There are many courts available, but we're the only ones scheduled for 11:00. The ATP always promises solutions, but never does anything. This isn't the first time this has happened, and when you're inside, you realize it's not as nice as it seems from the outside."
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Davidovich comes from a long series of matches, as he is also playing in doubles with Flavio Cobolli. However, his statement was responded by British player Daniel Evans, who reposted his story on Instagram saying "Wake up and play. The world wakes up and works 9-5 event 8-6. Pathetic".
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