Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov lost his cool at the Italian Open, shouting "shut the f—up" at fans as a chorus of boos rained down upon him.
The 23-year-old squared off against Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the first round of the Open in Rome on Monday.
Shapovalov was down 3-4 in the second set when he crossed the net to check a ball mark on Sonego's side of the court and was given a code violation.
The Canadian began to argue the code violation with chair umpire Richard Haigh when the hometown crowd began booing him. Shapovalov quickly turned from the umpire to direct a message at the crowd.
"Shut the f—up!" Shapovalov belted.
The Richmond Hill, Ont., native won the marathon match 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3 in just under three hours 11 minutes.
He went on to apologize to Haigh following the match.
--with a file from the Associated Press
