Livid Lokoli not shakin' and stirred

PARIS - As anyone who has ever played or watched tennis - professional or recreational - knows, the post-match handshake at the net is as much a customary part of the sport as a racket, ball or serve.

So when a player who lost at the French Open rebuffed his opponent's attempt at the ritual on Tuesday, it became the talk of the tournament.

On a day when No 1 Andy Murray and No 3 Stan Wawrinka won, and a couple of top-10 players unaccustomed to long stays at Roland Garros - Alexander Zverev in the men's draw, Johanna Konta in the women's - lost, the most buzzworthy development stemmed from a match between one guy who stands 50th in the world and another who is 285th.

After losing to Martin Klizan of Slovakia 7-6 (4), 6-3, 4-6, 0-6, 6-4 in the first round at Roland Garros, wild-card entry Laurent Lokoli of France skipped the usual sign of sportsmanship. Instead, he went to the sideline to pack up his things.

When Klizan approached, right arm extended, Lokoli dismissively waved him off with the back of a hand, motioning to stay away.

Afterward, Lokoli said he wasn't being a sore loser but rather that he didn't want to shake because he thought Klizan was faking an injury during the match and was generally "disrespectful".

"I just have a problem with his attitude," Lokoli said. "He wasn't fair. That's it."

Klizan, who will face Murray in the second round, initially opened his media conference by being confrontational with reporters, repeatedly saying he had no comment and adding: "I don't want you to make a big story about nothing."

Eventually, he spoke about a problem with his left calf that he said forced him to pull out of other recent clay-court tournaments and made him consider withdrawing from the French Open.

Later on Tuesday, Klizan played in a doubles match that he and Joao Sousa of Portugal lost in straight sets.

Lokoli was angered by what he interpreted as gamesmanship, saying Klizan appeared to be dogging it over some stretches - such as the 6-0 fourth set - when he was apparently hampered by his leg.

"I was wondering if he was going to retire or not, because he's not running anymore, you know?" said Lokoli.

"I'm just saying that, you know, there are ways of doing things. If you're injured, for instance, well, you're injured. So what? Call the doctors. This is what really bothered me.

"Look at reality. The person on the other side of the net is doing things that are very, very weird. Strange things. What am I supposed to do about it?"

Klizan explained the fourth set this way: "He played perfect. No mistakes. Serving aces. I was playing bad. At that time, I felt a little pinch in my calf, so I was scared."

Associated Press

(China Daily 06/01/2017 page24)