The Cypriot player Marcos Baghdatis angrily smashed four rackets in quick succession during his defeat to Stanislas Wawrinka at the Australian Open second round; the actions cost the Cypriot a $770 fine.
After going down a break in the third set, having already lost the first two sets of his second-round match, Baghdatis sat in his chair at the changeover and whacked his racket seven times on the court until it was completely mangled.
The former Australian Open finalist then calmly gave it to a ballboy before picking three more from his bag – two still in plastic wrappers – and breaking those one by one. This overt, physical demonstration of anger earned him the fine, due to today’s tennis regulations.
“Years ago players were swearing at umpires, swearing at ball kids, people in the stands and stuff. I’ve taken my fair share of stick for saying stuff on the court that was very, very mild compared with what the guys used to before. I’m happy with the way it is just now”, the tennis player Andy Murray said.
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