Tarango Fears Confrontation With Regional Hero Rosset, Withdraws From Swiss Open

Hot-tempered Jeff Tarango has withdrawn from the Swiss Open tennis tournament for fear of a confrontation with an angry Marc Rosset, tournament officials in Gstaad, Switzerland said Monday.

At Wimbledon, Tarango had accused French umpire Bruno Rebeuh of being “the most corrupt official in the game.”

Tarango stormed off the court during his thirdround match against Alexander Mronz of Germany after a dispute with Rebeuh over a line call. Tarango’s French wife, Benedicte, then slapped the official twice on the face.

Afterwards, Tarango alleged Rebeuh had shown bias to players in return for friendship. He named Rosset, the Olympic champion from Switerland, as one of those who had benefited from the official’s favoritism.

Tarango was fined a record $15,500 for the outburst and may face further fines or suspension following an investigation.

“We understand that some guys from the ATP told (Tarango) to go back to the United States because Rosset is here,” said Jurg Vogel, a spokesman for the $560,000 tournament that began Monday.

“I think it was because of the emotional side. Rosset is a local hero. He is from nearby Geneva and he was very angry about the allegations.”

Top-seeded Thomas Muster had his 40-match winning streak on clay ended when he was beaten in the first round of the $560,000 Swiss Open.

Spain’s Alex Corretja took only 90 minutes to beat Muster 7-5, 6-1.