(AP)

The story, like most tales of tennis intrigue involve pride, machismo, restrooms and second-hand quotes loosely translated from foreign newspapers, is convoluted, but worth the read. Here’s how that story goes:

L’Equipe, a respected French sports daily, not some fly-by-night publication, reported there was a tense conflict between members of the losing French Davis Cup and a victorious Stan Wawrinka outside a bathroom follwing the Swiss victory during Sunday’s official tournament dinner.

In more cordial times. (Reuters)

Details are sketchy and confined to innuendo, as all details of bathroom-based encounter should be, but here’s the gist: During the ceremony, Wawrinka was cordially chatting with French player Julien Benneteau when other members of the French delegation (three players and two staff members) joined the conversation near the restroom. The tone, according to L’Equipe, was respectful, but the French let Wawrinka know his words weren’t appreciated. Richard Gasquet, who lost the final match for the French, was particularly aggrieved.

During the tie, Wawrinka had been saying the French were yapping too much about the final, but the Swiss made the final salvo by “[letting] our rackets talk on the court.” At another point, Wawrinka had joked to L’Equipe that the celebratory champagne bottles had been put in the French locker room, but quickly had to be changed to the Swiss room after Federer’s Sunday morning win.

(Getty Images)

Things were also intensified by Wawrinka’s seemingly benign comment after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: “I thought I was the stronger player on the court. I’m not No. 4 for nothing.”

That’s not exactly classy, but after you win 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, it’s not out of line either. In fact, most of this seemed to be innocent posturing you get during team events, but don’t see as much during the individual competition that dominates the tennis season.

There was a bit of it back at the Australian Open, when Tsonga himself took a dig at Wawrinka by suggesting that he wouldn’t trade careers with the Swiss player, despite his new Slam. There was also likely some residual bitterness over Tsonga and the rest of the French team being upset with the lack of support in its home Davis Cup tie, which was filled with thousands of Swiss fans.

French teammates Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga watch Gasquest’s implosion. (AP)

The bathroom incident never reached to a Sharks vs. Jets proportions (or Requins vs. Jets, in this case — sorry, there’s no good translation for Jets in French). Gael Monfils reportedly stepped in, ended the beef and Wawrinka apologized. But that didn’t stop French captain Arnaud Clement from using his turn at the podium later that evening to congratulate Roger Federer for his “class on the court and in the media,” but conspicuously saying nothing about Wawrinka.

Good. Tennis has been too friendly lately. A majority of the players — particularly the French ones such as Tsonga and Monfils — are complete gentlemen on the court. While no one wants tennis to turn into hockey, a little bad blood would make for some compelling theater.

(Reuters)