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Roddick fumes over swearing row
Second seed Andy Roddick on Friday came under fire after using the word 'f***' against Italian qualifier Bracciali.
Andy Roddick's progress to the Wimbledon third round was overshadowed on Friday after the American second seed became involved in an ugly slanging match with the media over a swearing row.
Roddick came under fire after being accused of using the word 'f***' when his second round match against Italian qualifier Daniel Bracciali had been suspended because of poor light on Thursday evening.
The players returned to centre court on Friday when Roddick wrapped up a 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 4-6, 6-3 win.
However, instead of discussing his next match against Russia's Igor Andreev, the powerful American found himself defending his reputation.
"I said a bad word. I don't know if it was to Bracciali. I was walking off and he was throwing a fit," said Roddick who insists the chair umpire had called a suspension of play before he packed his bags and marched off.
Roddick had just lost the third set tiebreak to allow his opponent back into the match.
"Maybe ask him what he said first. I'm not one to just go at people. That's not my style, okay? If he's upset, he can come talk to me about it."
"He doesn't need an interpreter. All I know is that you wouldn't do many things in the dark. Try returning a 135mph serve when you can't see the ball. It's not the easiest thing."
"I don't think there's anything bad about walking off a dark tennis court because you can't see and you can't play. That seems like a pretty logical decision to me."
Bracciali, the world number 120, said he had been unhappy at the decision to call off play on Thursday evening.
"I was a bit angry because when they stopped the match it was 2050 and I was asking why. And Andy said something with the 'F' word so I was angry with that," he said.
However, the Italian player admitted he didn't know if the obscenity was aimed at him or not.
"I don't know if it was for me. If not me, maybe the umpire."
The Roddick-Bracciali bust-up followed on from another centre court swearing row involving Britain's Tim Henman during his defeat to Russia's Dmitry Tursunov.
Henman was heard using the 'F' word as he tried to gee up himself and the crowd as his campaign faltered.
He even unleashed a tirade aimed at the ballboys because his preferred drink was not courtside asking the umpire 'to tell them to get their heads out of their arses'.
The 30-year-old Henman, as well as the BBC who were covering the match live, was forced into a public apology.
"If I said some bad words, I apologize. These things happen in the spur of the moment when you're out there competing, wanting to get fired up. If you say the wrong word, then, yeah, I apologize for that," said Henman.
