It has been a few days in Shanghai that French professional tennis player Terence Atmane won’t forget in a hurry. The world No.161 produced one of the best performances of his professional career on Saturday, pushing seventh seed Taylor Fritz all the way in an absorbing contest.
But rather than reap the rewards of his impressive showing, Atmane has been dropped by his main sponsors, Asics, after appearing to take Nike trainers onto the court for the clash.
The American eventually came through 7-6 7-6, and has since prevailed in a more straightforward contest with Yosuke Watanuki to make the last-16.
Atmane went onto upload a cryptic post on Instagram, with the 22-year-old writing: “Thank you for everything Asics Tennis. It was a pleasure for me to represent the family even if you guys fired me. I can’t complain about that decision.
“Hope you saw and enjoyed how much I improved mentally after this week cause this is just the beginning of a new me. Thanks to the wonderful people with who I had the chance to work with, you guys will always have a special place inside of my heart. Love you all, peace, Terence.”
But there appears to be an explanation for his sudden dismissal. Against Fritz, the Frenchman appeared to walk on court holding Nike trainers in his hand. A photo on his Instagram page seemingly confirmed this, despite him not mentioning it in his subsequent statement.
Atmane had to come through qualifying just to make the main draw in Shanghai, before beating American player Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4 7-6 to set up a clash with Fritz. And the split comes at the end of a season where he appeared to be making progress on the ATP Tour.
At the Australian Open in January, Atmane qualified for a Grand Slam event for the first time in his career. And he caught the eye in his only match, taking the first set against third seed Daniil Medvedev and briefly threatening a huge upset.
Atmane eventually retired when two sets to one down due to cramping, but then proceeded to reach the third round of the Italian Masters. His displays earned him a wildcard entry into the French Open, but he fell at the first hurdle on home soil to Sebastian Ofner.
Fans reacted with intrigue to Atmane’s post, with @i_m_saroj calling the announcement a “candid revelation” and questioning the nature of his words. “It’s not every day an athlete announces their parting ways with a sponsor like Asics in such a public manner,” they wrote. “This could mark a significant transition point in his career, both in terms of equipment and perhaps his approach to professional partnerships.”
@JustinNicklas1 added: “He’s a bit of an interesting character whose effort and mentality fluctuates. He played a crazy match with a lot of interruptions at Roland Garros against Ofner. Very streaky player.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk