Tennis star clears confusion up as fans get wrong end of the stick over 'smoking' photo

Francisco Comesana has spoken out on during a match at the Miami Open. The Argentinian came through two qualifying matches to qualify for the tournament, before being beaten 7-6 7-6 by Federico Cina.

However, his campaign was overshadowed by a picture that emerged from his victory over Michael Mmoh. After winning the first set 6-3, he took his place in his seat and put something in his mouth. From the image, many fans mistakenly perceived that the star was smoking.

British player Liam Broady further stoked the fires online by sharing a picture suggesting Comesana puffed a cigarette while sitting in his chair. His mischievous post went viral, igniting speculation.

"So am I right in saying Comesana was nailing cigs on court and won?" he said. "I'm not sure I've ever seen this in professional sport, fair play. The picture is not helping. I don't know why."

The world No.61 has now moved to clear up the speculation. Speaking to Talking Tennis TV, he denied the allegation and pointed out that smoking wouldn't have been permitted anyway.

"I was not actually smoking," he said. "So obviously it would not be allowed to smoke on the court, but yeah, there are actual news articles where people are saying ' asked the umpire for a lighter.' I didn't. I wasn't smoking."

Comesana did explain what he was putting in his mouth, claiming he was using a painkiller. He added: "Of course, I was not smoking. I was taking a pill."

The following week, he played at the Bucharest Open and at least enjoyed a controversy-free campaign. He reached the quarter-final before losing to Sebastian Baez.