German tennis player Diego Dedura-Palomero may have lost fans before he even gained them despite making tennis history at the BMW Open.
The 17-year-old initially failed to make the main draw in Munich after he lost to Alexander Bublik in the second round of qualifying.
@ATPtour – XDedura-Palomero was the happiest man in Germany after a shock win[/caption]
But Dedura-Palomero was given the chance of a lifetime when he was thrust into the main draw as a lucky loser after French star Gael Monfils withdrew and would face sixth seed Denis Shapovalov.
By simply stepping onto the court against the Canadian, Dedura-Palomero became the first man born in 2008 to compete in an ATP Tour match.
Just over an hour later and Dedura-Palomero, ranked 549th in the world, shocked the tennis world when he beat Shapovalov 7-6, 3-0 with the latter unfortunately having to retire.
Given the historic nature of his win, Dedura-Palomero celebrated in style as he let out an almighty roar and hurled his headband onto the clay surface.
He then appeared to mark out a cross on the court before he lay down on his back with arms and legs outstretched.
Although many fans could understand why the 17-year-old was elated with the win and celebrated accordingly, others on social media were quick to slam his actions, especially given his victory came as a result of Shapovalov’s injury.
One fan on X said: “Cringe worthy. Seriously. Not cool to celebrate like that when your opponent is injured. Don’t care how hold he is, very bad form.”
Another posted: “His opponent just retired and celebrating like he won the Grand Slam, shameless.”
A third wrote: “This is unreal levels of disrespect and delusion. Idc if he’s young, he’s old enough to know better, I wish the best of luck to his opponents for the remainder of his career.”
However, respected tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg defended the teenager’s post-match act.
@ATPTour – XThe teenager soaked in the moment, but not everyone liked what they saw[/caption]
“I don’t really match the anger here, btw… let the child be hype about a career-changing result!” Rothenberg said.
“He was up a set and 3-0 before Shapovalov retired, so a victory had been earned when the stoppage came.
“And if his celebration is too much… maybe everyone else is doing too little.”
Despite some tennis fans making their frustrations known, Dedura-Palomero may not be overly fussed given the win over Shapovalov instantly tripled his career earnings.
Prior to the BMW Open, Dedura-Palomero had accrued £15,800.
But by simply winning one game in Munich, the teenager is certain to net a cool £31,200.
@ATPTour – XShapovalov was once ranked in the top 10 but has fallen to 32nd in the world[/caption]
Dedura-Palomero struggled to find the right words following his career-altering victory and even revealed a kind gesture from Monfils before the match.
“I just can’t put it in words right now. I’m just so happy,” Dedura-Palomero said.
“I was struggling all these years and now I just got the wild card for qualifying. I won against Top 100 Mackenzie McDonald [on Saturday], then lost against [Alexander] Bublik [on Sunday].
“I had bad luck because there were three lucky losers who got in, and I was the fourth one.
“So I was waiting the whole day on Monday and then [Gael] Monfils pulled out. He hugged me and was so nice.
“I just went in and told myself to, ‘Just have fun, go with the crowd and just play your best tennis’. I can’t put it in words. I’m just so happy right now.”
Dedura-Palomero will face Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the second round.
