Fabio Fognini And Salvatore Caruso Had To Be Separated In Fiery Post-Match Argument

Fabio Fognini And Salvatore Caruso nearly came to blows after their Australian Open clash.

The two Italians produced arguably the most exciting match of the tournament so far with Fognini eventually coming out on top against his compatriot.

Throughout the gripping back-and-fourth battle, neither player was shy in complaining to the chair umpire.

In fact, the entire match was riddled with moaning and groaning from both blokes.

But tempers truly flared once the match had finished.

After the match tiebreak, the Italian duo started yelling at each other from opposite sides of the net.

This eventually turned into a lot of finger pointing and animated gestures as they made their way off the court.

And even as they were packing up their racquets and gear to leave the arena, the two continued to engage in a heated war-of-words which quickly escalated and resulted in the pair going nose-to-nose.

PA

Both Fognini And Caruso looked fuming, so an Australian Open supervisor was deployed to ensure they didn't start throwing hands court-side.

The situation was eventually defused and attention immediately turned to what exactly was said between the two.

Speaking in their native tongue, us Aussie viewers had absolutely no idea what they were bickering about - until now.

In the wake of the second-round encounter, Italian tennis reporter Enrico Maria Riva took to social media to post a full transcript of the argument.

So, here it is...

Fognini: You have been f***ing lucky, you should apologise, I didn't disrespect you until now.

Caruso: What are you talking about?

Fognini: You won four identical lucky points.

Caruso: What are you talking about?

Fognini: Can't I say you have been lucky?

Caruso: I didn't dare to say a single world in the whole match.

Fognini: I said something because you called for it.

Caruso: I didn't dare to say a single world in the whole match, enough now.

Fognini: Can't I say you have been lucky? What's the problem?

Caruso: You can do whatever you want.

Fognini: So why are you breaking my balls now? I said you have been lucky, if I'm wrong saying it, I'm wrong. Don't attack me.

Caruso: I didn't attack you. I'm telling you it's not the way to behave because I didn't tell you a single world. Let's say I didn't expect that from you.

Fognini: What did you not expect? I told you you have been lucky, you didn't like it, what should I say?

Caruso: It's not the way to do it.

Fognini: Why? What's the problem?

Topics: Australian Open, Australia

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry