Roger Federer's coach in fiery mid-match spat with Swiss player

Yahoo Sport Australia

24 July 2018 at 9:04 pm

Roger Federer’s coach was on the receiving end of a vile mid-match threat that saw one player kicked out of the Swiss Open.

With Federer enjoying some R&R ahead of the American hard-court season, his coach and Switzerland’s Davis Cup captain Severin Luthi was watching on during qualifiers for the Swiss Open in Gstaad recently.

And according to Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitng, Luthi was involved in a strange mid-match spat with countryman Yann Marti.

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Marti was battling Adrian Bodmer for a spot in the main draw when he reportedly gestured with his racquet at Luthi and said: “You can put that in your ar*e.”

ATP referee Stephane Apostolou reportedly heard the outburst, and Marti was disqualified after officials reviewed video footage of the incident.

The Swiss player was later slapped with a $8850 fine for his troubles.

From left: Swiss players Henri Laaksonen, Yann Marti, coach Severin Luthi, Adrien Bossel and Michael Lammer give a press conference on March 3, 2015 ahead of the March 6-8 Davis Cup first round World Group meeting between Belgium and Switzerland in Liege. AFP PHOTO / BELGA / JOHN THYS – BELGIUM OUT – (Photo credit should read JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images)

Marti and Luthi haven’t exactly seen eye-to-eye over the years, with Marti refusing to act as a back-up player for the Swiss Davis Cup team in 2015.

The squad was headed up by Federer and Stan Wawrinka, but Marti wasn’t interested in playing a reserve role to the Swiss champions.

Meanwhile, Federer has shaken up his hard-court schedule as he begins his bid to end his 10-year title drought at the US Open.

The 36-year-old, whose last match was a shock five-set loss to Kevin Anderson in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, announced on Tuesday that he had withdrawn from the Canadian Open in Toronto.

The decision reduces the 20-time major winner’s plans to just one warm-up tournament – the Cincinnati Masters – before the US Open in a return to the more compact August schedule that led to two finals in 2015.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 07: Roger Federer of Switzerland and his trainer Severin Luthi look on during practice on day ten of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 7, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)

Last year, Federer first played in Canada, losing the final, before taking two weeks off and eventually losing in the US Open quarter-finals.

“I’m so disappointed not to play at the Rogers Cup (in Toronto) this summer,” Federer said.

“I had a fantastic time in Montreal last year and always enjoy playing in front of the Canadian fans.

“But unfortunately with scheduling being the key to my longevity moving forward, I have regrettably decided to withdraw from Toronto this year.”

The Toronto and Cincinnati tournaments run back-to-back across the first two weeks of August, with the US Open beginning on August 27 to end a busy month of action for the world’s best players.

Federer, who will celebrate his 37th birthday on August 8, is currently the only member of the top 20 to have pulled out of one of the two warm-up events.

World No.1 Rafael Nadal and Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic are among the players scheduled to appear at both tournaments.