Alejandro Tabilo is enduring a difficult season and has fallen outside the top 50, despite upsetting Novak Djokovic just over a month ago in Monte Carlo, and his dad has now dug him out on social media. The Chilean woke up on Monday as the world No. 59, a big drop since breaking into the top 20 last year.

He is recovering from a bone oedema in his left wrist and was forced to pull out of the Italian Open, where he reached the semi-finals last year. He is aiming to be fit for the French Open but preparations are being hampered by off-court issues. As large portions of the world celebrated Mother’s Day this past weekend, including Chile, the country’s tennis organisation posted a photo with several of their players and mothers, thanking them for their support.

However, Tabilo’s father, Ricardo, surprisingly commented on the post: "Many congratulations to all the mothers. I want to thank TenisChile for the greeting with that photo of remembrance, as Alejandro has forgotten his mother since he got a girlfriend from a VIP section in a nightclub in the eastern part of the capital."

Ricardo was referring to his son’s current partner, Malena de Lorenzo.

Alejandro replied to the public post with a message: "Ricardo Tabilo, how good it is to continue writing lies in such a cowardly manner. Now you remember you have a beautiful wife... "

The ugly row even saw Tabilo’s brother, Sebastian, get involved as he recalled a moment when legendary coach Brad Gilbert told them that Alejandro was a promising talent and had a future in tennis.

He wrote: "What Mr. Gilbert didn't tell us was that he would be consumed by ego.”

The bitter feud is unlikely to do the player’s recovery from injury any help, having provided an update last week on what he described as a “complicated” issue.

“Yesterday (Wednesday) was a very happy day for me, because I was able to hit the ball at 100 per cent again,” he told TNT Sports. “I'm very happy about that, and we're seeing how my wrist adapts to this rhythm, so we're taking it step by step, but we're very positive.

“It's a fairly complicated injury, and if I have an MRI now, the oedema will be there, so I have to evaluate the pain, if I feel it, and take it easy. It takes a lot of patience and a lot of time, so I need to rest him. But so far, things are going very well. The doctor told me it’s much better. That's the bright side.”