Verdasco Fears Eastbourne’s Damp Grass Could Be Injurious To His Financial Future

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 21st June 2013

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

Verdasco Fears Eastbourne’s Damp Grass Could Be Injurious To His Financial Future

epa03724651 Fernando Verdasco of Spain reacts during his second round match against Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2013. EPA/CHRISTOPHE KARABA |

Fernando Verdasco lost his bid for the semi-finals on grass at Eastbourne in a match which the Spaniard said should have been stopped due to dangerously damp grass. The No.58 said that had he asked as a member of the tennis elite, his request might have borne more weight with tournament officials.

“The court was dangerous for both of us,” he said of winner Feliciano Lopez, a two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist. “We had to make so short steps and be so careful, because it was pretty slippery. The ball was heavier and the court was more humid so the bounce was lower, which does not help my game.”

Verdasco said that one of the major names in the game might have gotten the match postponed until conditions improved. “Because I’m not Nadal or Federer or any of these guys, I need to say, I need to do what the ATP wants, because if I said, I go, the tournament will not say, ‘We wait.’ Then I will get a fine from the ATP because I didn’t want to play in the bad conditions.

“What can I say? The ones that are here (high up) they have everything they want. The ones that are not there, you need to do what the other wants.”