Tennis star Denis Shapovalov got a little heated at the Italian Open on Monday. During his opening round match against Italian Lorenzo Sonego, Shapovalov shouted “shut the f— up” at the crowd after fans became unhappy with his conduct towards the chair umpire.
In the second set against Sonego, Shapovalov was given a point penalty because he had crossed the net on multiple occasions. Following that penalty, the Canadian tennis star lost his cool.
“I was just showing you the mark,” Shapovalov shouted at the umpire.
A tournament official had to intervene in an effort to diffuse the situation.
The umpire informed Shapovalov “that’s just the rule,” and he responded by saying, “No it’s not, it’s stupid.”
Shapovalov continued to scream at the umpire and that’s when fans began to voice their displeasure by booing him. Shapovalov, who is ranked as the No. 16 player in the world, then shouted the profanity towards the crowd.
Eventually, Shapovalov dropped the second set 6-3, but did rebound to take a 6-3 victory in the third set to win the match. The 23-year-old star will be back on the court in the Round of 32 at the Italian Open.
