Greek tennis star unloads on 'malaka' linesman
Green tennis gun Stefanos Tsitsipas apologised after his third-round Australian Open encounter on Friday after he launched a foul-mouthed tirade at a linesman he labelled a "malaka".
The world No. 15, who will take on Roger Federer in the next round, was seething when a line judge erroneously cost him the chance to claim the third set of his match against Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Ahead 5-3 in the set, Tsitsipas let loose.
"That wanker has f***ed me, f*** your house," Tsitsipas said in his native Greek tongue.
The outburst resulted in a code violation, with a set to follow.
"It was the heat of the moment, I said some really bad things," the 20-year-old said after he eventually prevailed 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
"I regret saying them but I really wanted this really bad.
"At that moment it felt like it was slipping out, you know. Basilashvili kind of found comfort and confidence after that. So I was really frustrated."
The strafing comes only days after former world No. 1 Carlos Moya identified Tsitsipas as one of the next generation of players to take the mantle from the so-called 'big three' of Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
"It takes a bit more time to be more consistent week in week out – that’s what still these kids are lacking compared to the big three," said Moya, the coach of Rafael Nadal.
"It’s a matter of time to see them take over."
Tsitsipas' incident follows a $10,000 fine handed to American CoCo Vandeweghe at last year's Open, after she yelled "F--- you, you f---ing b----" to a lineswoman.
Nick Kyrgios was also fined $3000 at last year's tournament for telling a noisy spectator to "shut the f--- up".
With AAP.