Rosset's hand signals Hopman defeat

Tennis

Tennis

Rosset's hand signals Hopman defeat

Marc Rosset handed Croatia the Hopman Cup yesterday after he lost his temper during the deciding doubles match of the final and punched an advertising hoarding. The Swiss No 1 was forced to withdraw through injury with the score on 3-6 7-6 5-5 in the final set, after the singles matches had been shared. Rosset's temper flared after he and his partner, 15-year-old Martina Hingis, had failed to convert four match points. He continued in obvious pain, but after taking a 30-0 lead on Hingis's serve he dropped his racket, clutched his right hand and walked off court, forfeiting the match and the final. Earlier, he had lost his singles to Goran Ivanisevic 7-6 7- 5, while Hingis beat Iva Majoli 6-3 6-0. "It is tough for me to explain how sorry I am. I shouldn't have done it, but sometimes it is hard to control yourself," Rosset said. Morocco's Younes al-Aynaoui beat the French Open champion, Thomas Muster, 6-4 6- 4 in 69 minutes to reach the final of the Qatar Open yesterday. "I lost to someone who played better on the day," a disgruntled Muster said.