Dan Evans has slammed world number 19 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for moaning about his match scheduling.
The Spaniard penned an open letter to the ATP complaining about the start time of his Canadian Open third round match.
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Evans has issued a brutal response to a rival’s scheduling complaintsCredit: Getty
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Davidovich Fokina called for his Canadian Open third round clash to be pushed backCredit: Getty
Davidovich Fokina was scheduled to take on Jakub Mensik at 11pm local time (4pm BST) on Friday.
Their contest was due to begin an hour and a half before any other players took to the court.
Davidovich Fokina saw off Mensik in straight sets to book a last 16 meeting with either Andrey Rublev or Lorenzo Sonego.
His open letter came after he had beaten Corentin Moutet in straight sets in the second round on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old was then in doubles action alongside Flavio Cobolli on Thursday as they lost to British second seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash.
Davidovich Fokina called for his match against Mensik to be pushed back to later in the day in a furious statement.
He wrote: “Today, I want to share my disappointment and frustration with ATP. Tomorrow, every match starts at 12:30 except ours, which has been scheduled at 11:00.
“We are staying one hour away from the club, which means we have to wake up extremely early to arrive in good condition.
“We have asked for a change, but the answer was that everything has already been sold, including tickets and TV rights.
“Once again, it’s clear that players are not taken into consideration.
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The Spaniard moved into the last 16 despite his concerns over the timing of his matchCredit: Getty
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Evans told the world number 19 to ‘wake up and play’ in a stern social media responseCredit: Getty
“Today, it happens to others, tomorrow it’s me, and from the day after, all matches return to 12:30. There are plenty of available courts, and yet we are the only ones playing at 11:00.
“The ATP always promises they will fix things, but nothing ever changes. This is not the first time it has happened, and when you are inside, you realise it’s not as great as it looks from the outside.”
However, his message has been met with a brutal response from Evans on social media.
The Brit reposted his rival’s statement, adding: “Wake up and play. The world wakes up and works 9-5, even 8-6, pathetic.”
When is Dan Evans playing next?
Evans issued a response despite not taking part in Toronto this week.
However, he was in action at the recent Citi Open in Washington DC.
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The world number 129 won two matches in the US capital before crashing out in the third round.
His involvement came as he prepares for the US Open in New York City later this month.
Evans is also absent from the draw for next week’s Cincinnati Open but could return at the Winston-Salem Open on August 18.
Those events will be followed by the final Grand Slam event of the year, which runs from August 25 to September 7.