Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov experienced a full court meltdown during his first-round match at the Rome Masters on Monday, which saw him fall foul of both the umpire and the local crowd.
Shapovalov, world number 16, was playing local favourite Lorenzo Sonego. He had already received a warning. Now, serving at deuce, his second serve was close to the centre line, but initially called in. Sonego almost stopped, pushed his serve wide, but then complained.
Umpire Richard Hague reversed his decision, called the ball out, deeming it a double fault. This incensed Shapovalov, who strode up to the net and began to gesticulate towards a mark on the clay which he believed showed that the ball had landed inside the service lines.
Not content to stop, he continued to argue his case by climbing over the net, an act that is against the rules. Hague promptly awarded a penalty point against Shapovalov for code violation.
Shapovalov insisted that he had not done anything wrong or unsporting, and demanded that the supervisor be called. But the supervisor backed-up the umpire, insisting that he was only upholding the rules as they stand.
The partisan crowd, meanwhile, had become increasingly agitated towards the Canadian and began to boo him louder and louder. That pushed him right over the edge and he turned to them and told them to shut up in industrial language.
That made the atmosphere in the stadium even more raucous. The whistling and jeering intensified, although Shapovalov avoided a further penalty for the verbal obscenity.
When Sonego went on to win the second set and, therefore, level the match, it looked like there was a real risk that Shapovalov's lack of composure could have derailed his chances of a win.
To his credit, he regrouped and went on to win the third set and the match. He also apologised to Hague when the players shook hands at the end of the match.