ITALIAN OPEN CALLED OUT FOR 'ABSOLUTELY DISGRACEFUL' POSTPONEMENT DECISION

An expected rain delay forced some round of 16 and quarter-final matches to pause. (Getty/Silvia Lore)

The Italian Open's bold move to reschedule the last remaining men's fourth-round match between Casper Ruud and Jaume Munar has sparked debate, with some pointing out potential partisanship.

Ruud, the reigning Madrid Masters champion, was originally booked to face his Spanish opponent on Centre Court, but a hefty rain delay has instead forced organisers to move the match to Wednesday 10pm AEST on Grandstand.

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Despite other courts being accessible, both players were left to wait until the very last minute before the decision was made.

Per new ATP regulations, matches cannot begin after 11pm local time.

Former top-10 American CoCo Vandeweghe blasted the tournament for their handling of the situation.

"It should've been decided not only to get it to a different court, but also to keep these men on schedule," she said in an appearance on The Tennis Channel.

"The fact that they kept these men this late, this long, is absolutely disgraceful for them to not only play to the best of their ability, but to be able to recover for the next round."

Conspiracies have already begun to circulate, with local hero Jannik Sinner awaiting the winner of Ruud and Munar in the last-eight.

"Wow, imagine my shock, the match that decides who faces Sinner next is the only one delayed till the next day despite courts being available. No rest for whoever ends up facing Italy's No.1, how convenient," wrote one person on X.

Another fan, who was at the ground, wrote: "As someone with a night session ticket tonight, the way we were treated was disgraceful and at times dangerous. Watching one match that started at 10:30pm when the Sinner match sat firmly in the night session is ridiculous. Crowds were penned outside and then this scheduling."

Sinner defeated 17th-seed Francisco Cerúndolo 7-6(2) 6-3, in what was the Italian's biggest test since his return from a three-month suspension.

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