"Y'all were calling Holger Rune a brat for saying something similar" - Tennis fans react to Andy Murray hitting out at hostile Italian Open crowd

Andy Murray taking issue with his treatment from the spectators present at his Italian Open clash against home favorite Fabio Fognini has caught the attention of tennis fans online.

In a closely contested encounter, Fognini defeated Murray 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to advance to the second round in Rome. During the first set, chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani upheld a shot from Fognini that landed just outside the line, despite Hawkeye indicating otherwise. As clay-court tournaments do not employ Hawkeye technology, the umpire maintained his initial call.

"How can you see that ball from there being in? How is it possible," Murray asked Lahyani. "You can see the clay is still there. You can see the ball mark. You know you've got that wrong."

The three-time Grand Slam champion was subjected to boos from the Italian crowd for challenging the umpire. In response to a social media post regarding the situation, Murray expressed that it was unfair for the audience to boo him since Lahyani was responsible for the incident.

"Stadium full of Italians booing and whistling, thinking I'm trying to cheat Fabio out of point all because Mo [Mohamed Lahyani] couldn't read a mark properly. Cheers mate," Murray wrote on Instagram.

A tennis fan shared an image of the comment on Twitter and stated that they loved the Brit's candor.

"I love it when the king spills," the fan tweeted.

"Bitter Andy Murray is my favourite Andy Murray," a user commented.

Several fans brought up the contrasting reactions to Holger Rune's complaints of a hostile crowd at the Madrid Open.

"Y'all were calling holger 75 different flavors of the word brat for saying something similar at madrid hmmmmm," a fan posted.

"But when its Holger all of TT is snickering," another fan chimed in.

Here are some more fan reactions to Andy Murray hitting out at the Italian Open crowd:

"It was a pretty patchy match" - Andy Murray dissects his performance against Fabio Fognini at the Italian Open

Andy Murray out of the Italian Open

In an interview with The Guardian, Andy Murray admitted to not playing at his best level during his first-round clash against Fabio Fognini.

“It was a pretty patchy match,” Murray said. “There was some good stuff in there but also some pretty average stuff. He played very well in the third set. My level was OK in the third, but he played really well in the third.”

The 35-year-old also shared his uncertainty regarding whether he would opt to accept a wildcard entry into another tournament, compete at the 2023 French Open, or prioritize his preparation for the upcoming grass-court season.

"I’d still like to play but we did agree that we’d talk and make a decision as a team after Rome,” he added.

The former World No. 1 currently holds an 8-7 win/loss record for the season.