Thursday, January 19, 2012

Baghdatis fined $770 for racquet tantrum

Updated January 19, 2012 14:23:52

Marcos Baghdatis has escaped with the smallest fine of the tournament despite smashing four racquets in a spectacular dummy spit at the Australian Open.

The former Open runner-up was on Thursday slugged with a $US800 ($770) fine - effectively less than the cost to replace his equipment - for his tantrum at Melbourne Park.

After going down a break in the third set, having already lost the first two sets, of his second-round match against Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, Baghdatis sat in his chair at the changeover and whacked his racquet seven times on the court until it was completely mangled.

The Cypriot 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.

The tantrum briefly boosted Baghdatis, who recovered to win the set before bombing out of the tournament with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 defeat.

Despite having the power to fine players up to $US2,000 for each incident of racquet abuse, the Grand Slam Committee only served up an $US800 ticket to Baghdatis.

The fine was the same as that levelled to John Isner, Alexandr Dolgopolov and Denis Istomin, who have also been slugged for "abuse of racquet and equipment" over the opening few days of the championships.

American Donald Young, Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero and Frenchman Gilles Simon have all been fined almost double Baghdatis - $US1,500 - for swearing.

Spaniard Fernando Verdasco has copped the biggest fine at Melbourne Park this week - $US2,000 for being coached during his epic five-set first-round loss to Australian young gun Bernard Tomic.

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-open, tennis, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted January 19, 2012 14:18:15


View the original article here

No comments:

Post a Comment