How many Verdasco moments can one match have? It turns out the answer is “unlimited.”
Fernando Verdasco, who had been showing surprisingly good form lately after making the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and the final of Bastad, was playing the 22-year-old unheralded Argentinian Federico (not “Frederico” as I have been mistakingly writing for months) Delbonis in the Hamburg quarterfinals.
He narrowly won the first set over No. 114 Delbonis 7-6(5). Verdasco then dropped the extremely close second set, 6-7(8).
In a moment of fury, he left to go to the locker room after dropping the second set, apparently to gather himself. Instead, he punched a locker. BRILLIANT.
Verdasco is having an MTO for his hand, having apparently punched his frustration out in the locker-room! pic.twitter.com/hiVGerqz8K
— TennisTV (@TennisTV) July 19, 2013
Anyone else think it’s a bit ridiculous that self-inflicted injuries that happen in the locker room get a MTO? Though, I mean, there’s probably not a rule in the book about that, because the ATP is still playing catch-up with the many ways that Fernando Verdasco can completely self-destruct mid-match.
Things did not get better from there.
It gets worse for Verdasco who fires a ball into the crowd, gets docked a point – code violation! Del Bonis leads 4-3 pic.twitter.com/1y7v2dQwOC
— TennisTV (@TennisTV) July 19, 2013
The match ended up ending the only way this match could end: Delbonis served for it at 5-3, got broken. Verdasco was serving to even things up, got down three break-points/match-points. Delbonis didn’t convert, got it back to deuce.
Was wondering when Verdasco would come crashing down to earth. And it really did have to be that operatic…
— Zafar (@hypotemuse) July 19, 2013
Eventually Fernando Verdasco Fernando-Verdascoed and double faulted to give Delbonis the biggest win of his young career.
Well, in many ways Verdasco completely lost the plot this afternoon & he's been made to pay! Delbonis has won an epic 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-4
— Live Tennis (@livetennis) July 19, 2013
Verdasco was classy in defeat and gave all the credit to his young opponent:
Big dissapointment the match that went away today with an injury too that will not let me play next week in umag!
— Fernando Verdasco (@FerVerdasco) July 19, 2013
Or not.
I think it’s safe to say that Verdasco is currently in the midst of giving the devil back his dues (and then some) after the bargain he made with him on the eve of Wimbledon.