Denis Shapovalov was disqualified over a verbal outburst at a fan while down match point to Ben Shelton in Washington, DC.
By Erik Gudris | @atntennis | Friday, August 2, 2024
In Washington DC, Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, 25, was disqualified while down triple match match point over a verbal outburst he made at a fan during his quarterfinal match with No. 2 seed Ben Shelton.
MORE: Shelton’s Mission to Improve His Return
At the Mubadala Citi DC Open ATP 500 event, Shelton found himself up match points in the second set tiebreak at 6-3. The second-seeded American had already won the first set in a tiebreak.
Supervisor called on court on match point at the Shelton vs Shapovalov match. Shapo says: No need to call the supervisors, just give me a warning which the umpire did already. pic.twitter.com/dPH9Jbln84
— edgeAI (@edgeaiofficial) August 2, 2024
Shapovalov, after losing a point, tossed his racquet multiple times onto the court. Then a rowdy fan in the stands apparently taunted the Canadian prompting him to yell a verbal obscenity at the fan.
Bizarre scenes then ensured after the chair umpire issued a code violation penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct to Shapovalov. While the Canadian pleaded his case to umpire Greg Allensworth, the supervisor arrived on court.
“What do you mean, he’s talking to me,” Shapovalov told the umpire about the fan. “I’m going to tell him. Give me a code but don’t call the supervisor.”
Shapovalov then got into a lengthy discussion with the supervisor, while Shelton waited for the drama to conclude. After the umpire told the supervisor that he heard what Shapovalov said, but not the fan, Shelton came over and told the umpire he heard it too. After all of that, Shapovalov was ultimately disqualified.
After he shook hands with Shelton at net, Shapovalov had more words with the supervisor before leaving the court.
A default in the nation’s capital ❌⁰⁰🇺🇸 @BenShelton had triple match point on Shapovalov when the Canadian shouted at a spectator, leading to his disqualification.⁰⁰#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/cTPjQyCgOe
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) August 2, 2024
21-year-old Shelton advanced into the semifinals 7-6(5), 6-6 (W/O) and will face Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.
“I don’t really have anything to say,” she said. “It’s unfortunate that a high-level match like that, such a great match that was highly contested, just an all-out war, ended like that. You never want to see it.
“I think it was a tough situation all around.”
It’s not the first high profile defaut for Shapovalov.
Back in 2017, a then 17-year-old Shapovalov was disqualified in a Davis Cup tie with Great Britain when he fired a ball into the stands but it ended up inadvertently striking the umpire in the eye, resulting in a disqualification from that match, although it was deemed Shapovalov did not intend to hit the umpire.
As a result of the disqualification this week, Shapovalov will lose all money and ranking points that he earned this week in D.C. A futher fine or suspension is pending from the ATP.
Photo Credit: Mubadala Citi DC Open
