Francisco Cerundolo and Jakub Mensik turned up to their Madrid Open quarter-final match wearing the exact same outfit, even down to the accessories. Adidas sponsors both players, and they took to the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium wearing black shirts with neon shorts.
But fans weren’t happy with their matching ensemble. When the cameras zoomed out to show the full court during a rally, they could not tell the players apart and claimed it made the match “unwatchable”.
Cerundolo and Mensik knew there was a huge opportunity on the line when they met in Thursday’s quarter-final. The Madrid Open draw is wide open and, with eight men left, we are already guaranteed a first-time champion at the Caja Magica.
With some top players withdrawing and big names like Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev going down, world No. 6 Jack Draper is the highest-ranked player left in the men’s singles draw. And he is in the opposite half of Cerundolo and Mensik.
The Argentine and the Czech teenager took to Arantxa Sanchez Stadium on Thursday afternoon hunting a spot in the semi-final, where 14th seed Casper Ruud awaited the winner.
But there was one glaringly obvious issue when they met at the net for the pre-match coin toss and photo – they looked identical.
Both men rocked up wearing black t-shirts with neon shorts and sweatbands. They also had the same volt-coloured hat on, and both wore their caps backwards.
It was a bemusing sight when they took a picture together before the match started, but it was a nightmare when play began, as it was difficult to tell them apart during a point, and fans weren’t happy.
“I don’t understand how/why these big companies can’t have multiple kits available for the players at tournaments? .. looks so dumb,” @weaseyouttahere tweeted.
@MaxGross55 added: “Makes an exciting match pretty unwatchable.”
“Very uncomfortable for the spectator, of course. It seems surreal to me that they don’t have different colours so players wearing the same brand don’t clash. I can’t understand it,” @Alepozo_14 explained.
One fan pointed out that it was just another factor making the viewing experience especially difficult, in addition to the shadows cast across the court.
“What makes this especially bad on this occasion is it’s an adventure to find the ball this time of day on that court on its own. Now you can’t tell which player is which at times,” @TennisUpdates25 wrote.
It was difficult to tell the players apart, and it was also tough to separate them early on. Miami Open champion Mensik took the first set 6-3 before Cerundolo stormed back to take the second set 7-5 in a tiebreak, forcing a decider.
The Argentine then raced through the final set, winning 3-6 7-6(5) 6-2.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk