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An Italian tennis star has bizarrely blamed the intense heat for repeatedly shouting homophobic slurs at himself during his Olympic loss - while his Russian opponent wants a reporter banned for asking about his nation cheating.
Fabio Fognini went down in straight sets to Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in a match during which he repeatedly called himself a 'frocio', which translates to a homophobic slur in Italian.
'The heat went to my head,' Fognini said in his Instagram story after the match.
'In today's match I used a really stupid expression towards myself. Obviously I didn't want to offend anyone's sensibilities. I love the LGBT community and I apologize for the nonsense that came out of me.'
Medvedev also created controversy by lambasting a journalist for asking if Russian athletes are 'carrying a stigma of cheaters' at the Tokyo Games.
'I think you should [remove] him from either the Olympic Games, either the tennis tournament,' he said.
'I don't wanna see him again in my interviews. Thanks.'
