Andy Murray enjoyed some fierce battles in his career, but perhaps none were more explosive than one against Fabio Fognini in 2019.
The recently-retired British tennis legend rarely hid his emotions on court during his playing days, and they were certainly on show during a fiery Shanghai Masters encounter with Fognini.
Murray and Fognini clashed at the Shanghai Masters back in 2019Getty
Back in 2019, Murray found himself on the wrong side of a closely contested three-set encounter with the Italian, losing 7-6 (4) 2-6 7-6 (2).
But the game’s biggest talking point came towards the end of the match, as the Brit lost his cool with his opponent in a furious bust-up.
Having been broken whilst serving for the match at 5-4 in the final set, Murray’s frustrations then boiled over in the following game when Fognini appeared to shout as he put away a simple volley.
Despite winning the point, the incident left the three-time Grand Slam champion incensed, who then confronted Fognini at the net at the end of the game.
After his opponent told him not to complain, Murray then turned to umpire Fergus Murphy to handle the issue.
Voicing his anger, the former world number one said: “He shouts and then tells me don’t look at me.
“He just shouted in the middle of the point.”
Murray was also heard telling Fognini to ‘shut up’ when he tried to interrupt as he reasoned with the match official, much to the crowd’s amusement.
He also took direct aim at the then world number 12, telling him at the changeover: “You say the same to everyone.
“Mate, you say the same to everyone no matter who you’re playing.”
Murray told Fognini to shut up a number of timesGetty
He raised Fognini’s antics with match officials to umpire Fergus MurphyGetty
The incident managed to throw Murray off his game, as he then squandered a second chance to seal victory whilst serving for the match at 6-5 in the following game, before ultimately losing on a tie-break.
And he was clearly unable to let the incident go after the match, with the Times reporting that the pair’s furious row then continued in the locker room in front of other players and officials.
Discussing the explosive clash later on, Murray recalled: “Someone made a noise, I didn’t know who made the noise, I looked in the direction of where the noise came from.
“He then told me, ‘Stop looking at me, what are you looking at me for?’
“I was like: ‘I was just about to hit a shot and someone made a noise’. He then told me to stop looking at him.”
The two-time Olympic gold medallist then confirmed that it had been Fognini who had made the noise, and pointed out that his behaviour was in breaking with the rules.
Murray continued: “He told me to stop complaining, to have a sense of humour.
“I wanted to know where the sound came from and it came from him, which you’re not allowed to do.
The pair shared a handshake but continued their row in the locker roomGetty
“It’s against the rules, it’s hindrance, you shouldn’t do it. But he said I should have a sense of humour about that but in that moment neither of us were in a joking, laughing kind of mood.”
Having undergone hip resurfacing surgery at the beginning of the year, the defeat to Fognini would ultimately prove to be Murray’s penultimate appearance in Shanghai, as injuries began to take their toll in the latter years of his career.
A three-time champion at the Chinese tournament in 2010, 2011 and 2016, he returned just once more, losing in the first round to Roman Safiullin in 2023.
With fitness struggles continuing to plague him, Murray then bid farewell to tennis at the following year’s Paris Olympics, bowing out at the quarter-final stage in the men’s doubles alongside Dan Evans.
