SERBIAN EIGHTH SEED Janko Tipsarevic launched a foul-mouthed tirade at French Open fans on Saturday who he claimed were sabotaging his Roland Garros campaign.
Tipsarevic lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny in the third round in a tense confrontation on Court Seven.
The 28-year-old faced down two spectators who he said talked and shouted out his opponent’s name every time he tossed the ball to serve.
“Are you fuckin’ stupid?,” screamed Tipsarevic before chair umpire Jake Garner came onto the court to intervene.
Advertisement
Both fans were eventually ejected from the stadium after Tipsarevic had made repeated requests early in the second set to have them dealt with.
“There were two guys in the corner constantly taunting and laughing, and you could really see they didn’t come to watch any tennis but just to pose,” said Tipsarevic.
“I just snapped, because you could really see they didn’t really care, what the score was or even who was playing. They just wanted to look nice and be at the French Open. They had no respect to the players in terms of being quiet or whatever.
“So at one point I was getting ready to serve at like, I think 30-15 on my serve, and one of the guys just started screaming, calling somebody to the stands.”
Tipsarevic admitted he was wrong to swear at the fans, an outburst that could lead to a fine.
“There’s no excuse for my reaction I should have talked to the referee first, but the referee told him to be quiet. Then one of the guys kept provoking me, screaming, ‘Come on, Youzhny’ before I tossed my balls.
“The referee had them removed. I think basically the problem was that I used the F word, and that was not pretty. But on the other hand, I just snapped. That’s it. It happens to everyone.”
Incidents of crowd trouble at tennis tournaments are rare although 45 people were evicted from the Australian Open on the first three days of the 2010 tournament in Melbourne.
In 2008, police at the event resorted to using pepper spray to quell unruly fans.
'Are you f****** stupid?' Janko Tipsarevic goes mental at Roland Garros
SERBIAN EIGHTH SEED Janko Tipsarevic launched a foul-mouthed tirade at French Open fans on Saturday who he claimed were sabotaging his Roland Garros campaign.
Tipsarevic lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny in the third round in a tense confrontation on Court Seven.
The 28-year-old faced down two spectators who he said talked and shouted out his opponent’s name every time he tossed the ball to serve.
“Are you fuckin’ stupid?,” screamed Tipsarevic before chair umpire Jake Garner came onto the court to intervene.
Both fans were eventually ejected from the stadium after Tipsarevic had made repeated requests early in the second set to have them dealt with.
“There were two guys in the corner constantly taunting and laughing, and you could really see they didn’t come to watch any tennis but just to pose,” said Tipsarevic.
“I just snapped, because you could really see they didn’t really care, what the score was or even who was playing. They just wanted to look nice and be at the French Open. They had no respect to the players in terms of being quiet or whatever.
“So at one point I was getting ready to serve at like, I think 30-15 on my serve, and one of the guys just started screaming, calling somebody to the stands.”
Tipsarevic admitted he was wrong to swear at the fans, an outburst that could lead to a fine.
“The referee had them removed. I think basically the problem was that I used the F word, and that was not pretty. But on the other hand, I just snapped. That’s it. It happens to everyone.”
Incidents of crowd trouble at tennis tournaments are rare although 45 people were evicted from the Australian Open on the first three days of the 2010 tournament in Melbourne.
In 2008, police at the event resorted to using pepper spray to quell unruly fans.
- © AFP, 2013
Porn star Jenna Jameson accuses Tito Ortiz of assault and drug-use
Uncaged: Cathal Pendred can cement UFC claims at Cage Warriors in Dublin
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
french open Rolland Garros tennis tantrum