Brazilian Davis Cup players Joao Souza and Thomaz Bellucci were reportedly racially abused during the loss to Argentina in Buenos Aires.
By Eurosport UK 1 hour ago Eurosport
The tie between the two South American rivals was typically fierce, with a raucous crowd overseeing Argentina’s dramatic 3-2 victory, but the encounter was marred by apparent racist taunts during the longest singles match in the competition’s history.
Brazil’s Sousza was involved in a five-set epic against Leonardo Mayer on Sunday that lasted six hours and 42 minutes. Home favourite Mayer squandered an incredible ten match points before breaking Souza’s serve to close out the match 7-6 7-6 5-7 5-7 15-13.
However, it was during that match that Souza was reportedly the target of racist abuse – the 26-year-old telling Brazilian website SporTV.com: “I wanted to go to the umpire but I would be jeered even more, it would only make it worse. We know it’s tough to play away from home, but racism is a bit too much.”
Belluci also complained of abuse during his decisive fifth-rubber tie against Federico Delbonis of which the Argentine won 6-3 3-6 6-2 7-5.
“It was the toughest day to play,” Bellucci told SporTV.com. “There was a lot of noise, a lot of people talking to me when I was serving. They were cursing at me every time I went for the towel. We knew it was going to be like this, we knew we were not going to be treated as lords.”
Argentina sealed a spot in the Davis Cup quarter-finals with the win over Brazil and will now face Serbia. The South Americans are still seeking their first Davis Cup title. They have been runners-up four times: 1981, 2006, 2008 and 2011.
