LONDON, (Reuters) – Unseeded Italian Andreas Seppi won the first ATP title of his career in extraordinary circumstances yesterday when Serbian opponent Janko Tipsarevic retired hurt in a rain-interrupted Eastbourne International final.
Seppi won 7-6 3-6 5-3 after two hours 35 minutes when the third seed retired after injuring his leg following a tumble on the greasy surface after calling for the match to be halted an hour earlier because of bad light.
Officials halted play for around 20 minutes with Seppi leading 4-0 in the final set before the match resumed in an almost deserted stadium.
Tipsarevic fought back to 4-3 before play was halted for another 10 minutes when he was strapped up after being wrong-footed by a return at the baseline, splaying his legs as he fell to the ground.
With Wimbledon starting on Monday and the tournament already hit by rain which washed out play on Friday, officials were keen to get the match finished.
Tipsarevic, though, was unhappy with the conditions. He asked for play to be halted at the start of the third set but was overruled by the tournament supervisor.
