Denis Shapovalov lost his cool.
The 23-year-old loudly shouted “shut the f–k up” to the crowd watching his first round Italian Open match after they began to boo him. Fans were frustrated by Shapovalov’s ongoing tiffs with the chair umpire.
Shapovalov was fighting to remain in the second set of the match against Italian Lorenzo Sonego after winning the first on a tiebreak. The umpire had already warned the Canadian about crossing the net; Shapovalov lost it when he was dealt a point penalty at a critical moment, causing him to lash out.
“I was just showing you the mark,” Shapovalov yelled at the umpire. A tournament official was called in to mitigate further escalation.
The umpire told Shapovalov “that’s just the rule,” and the ace quickly fired back, “No it’s not, it’s stupid.”
As Shapovalov continued to verbally spar with the umpire, fans lost patience with his antics as they were rooting for their countryman. They loudly booed the No. 16 player in the world, which caused the flare up from Shapovalov in which he cursed at the stands.
WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
Shapovalov failed to keep his emotions in check throughout the remainder of the second set. Obviously still heated from his altercations with the umpire and the crowd, he dropped the second set 3-6 only to roar back to a 6-3 win in the third set to clinch the match.
The Canadian tennis star will return to the court Tuesday to compete in the Round of 32.
