Japanese player Yoshihito Nishioka experienced a major meltdown at the Cincinnati Masters when he conceded a game penalty which contributed to his 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 loss against fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz in the round of 32.
Having already received a warning and a point penalty for ball abuse, that failed to stop Nishioka from producing a moment of madness when he inexplicably hit the ball out of the stadium out of pure frustration to trail 1-4 in the deciding set.
One match commentator could not believe what was unfolding in front of him.
“What is he doing? He’s completely lost his mind. Self-destruction if you like. I mean, he knows the rules, he knows exactly what’s going to happen,” he said.
After copping the game penalty, Nishioka slumped in a chair on the sideline - enraged over the decision despite no chance of overturning it.
Once the dust settled shortly after his defeat, the 28-year-old apologised for his poor behaviour as he seeks redemption in the final Grand Slam of 2024.
“I was already frustrated before the tiebreak,” the world No.51 explained. “In the third set when he broke me, I felt like everything went to him and nothing to me. I played ok, but everything went to him, so that’s where the frustration was coming from.
“I had a lot of support here and in the U.S. as well, and in my home country. I had a good result here, beating [Miomir] Kecmanovic, who is a great player. I had good play against Hubi [Hurkacz] in our first meeting, but in the third set, I tanked a little bit.
“I’m very sorry to my fans: I showed my best tennis until the second set when I couldn’t. Hopefully, there’ll be some luck to me at the US Open. I think my feel in tennis is better and better each day. I have to take care of my body a little bit and get ready for the US Open. I think I can play good tennis there.”
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