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Denis Shapovalov Swears At Crowd In Italian Open Win
Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov let fly at the crowd in his Italian Open first round match with Lorenzo Sonego, telling them to “shut the f*** up”.
The incident occurred after a row with the umpire in Monday’s clash as Shapovalov battled for the second set, having edged Sonego in the first.
Shapovalov had already received a warning when he was given a code violation for crossing the net to argue a line call. That resulted in the 23-year-old being handed a point penalty at a crucial moment in the second set – and the Canadian was not a happy man.
“I was just showing you the mark,” an angry Shapovalov told the umpire as he defended his decision to cross the net. The altercation resulted in the supervisor being called as the argument continued. “That’s just the rule,” replied the umpire, before Shapovalov hit back with: “No it’s not, it’s stupid.”
The Italian Open crowd began to voice their displeasure, booing the player’s behaviour and Shapovalov turned to the crowd, punched his fist around and shouted the profanity in their direction.
Shapovalov lost his service game and ultimately the second set before regaining his composure to claim the third in a 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-3 triumph.
Shapovalov has courted controversy before and was disqualified from a Davis Cup tie match with Kyle Edmund in February 2017 when he smashed a ball in anger and it ended up hitting umpire Arnaud Gabas, who suffered a fractured eye socket.
The 13th seed will meet Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round.
/Stewart Sports news editor
