Alejandro Davidovich Fokina hit out at a group of ‘ignorant, drunk’ fans at the Australian Open who distracted him during his five-set victory against Reilly Opelka on Wednesday.
Davidovich Fokina had started brightly, winning the first two sets, before unsavoury scenes started to descend on the KIA Arena.
After going 6-5 down in the third set, the Spaniard furiously smashed his racket into the ground, gaining himself a code violation.
The fans then began to heckle the world No 14, who became increasingly incensed by the crowd.
During a break in play, Davidovich Fokina walked over to the chair umpire to vent his frustrations, with the Spanish star overheard saying: ‘Zero respect’.
He continued to plead with the chair umpire about the conduct of the fans, with the official, then overheard telling him: ‘Don’t get into it.’
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina hit out at a group of ‘ignorant, drunk’ fans at the Australian Openwho distracted him during his five-set victory against Reilly Opelka on Wednesday
After being repeatedly heckled during the match, Davidovich Fokina (left) stopped play to approach the spectators
Tempers then exploded after Davidovich Fokina had gone 2-1 down in the fourth set. The 26-year-old stopped play just as Opelka was preparing to serve and stormed over to a group of rowdy fans behind the baseline.
He furiously waved his finger at the spectators who were sitting in the front row, before exchanging some heated words with the fans.
It prompted the chair umpire to leave his seat and urge Davidovich Fokina to walk away from the fans.
TNT Sports commentators said: ‘He’s suggesting he was given a hand gesture by a supporter.’
The umpire issued a warning to the fans, before returning to his seat and reminding patrons inside the 5,000-capacity stadium of the expected etiquette.
‘Please, ladies and gentlemen, for everyone in the stadium, keep it fair for both our athletes,’ he said over the stadium tannoy. ‘They are trying their best out here. We’re playing a tennis match.’
The intervention appeared to settle the tensions, with Opelka clawing his way back into the match at 2-2.
However, a resilient Davidovich Fokina bounced back. Having gone 3-2 up in the final set, he saved two break points before emphatically breaking his opponent at 4-5.
The incident came after the Spanish star had smashed his racket on the ground in fury, after being broken by Reilly Opelka at 5-5 in the third set
Davidovic Fokina was handed a code violation, with photographers capturing the aftermath of his angry tirade (pictured)
The Spanish star had confronted the unruly spectators in the fourth set, prompting the chair umpire to leave his seat
The official urged Davidovich Fokina to walk away, before issuing a warning to the spectators
The official then spoke over the tannoy to remind fans of the expected ettiquette
He celebrated wildly, throwing his racket into the middle of the court, while passionately yelling at the crowd.
After the match, the No 14 seed – who was handed a code violation for his earlier racket smash – was still seething at the unruly fans during his press conference.
‘It can happen here, it can happen wherever in the world,’ Davidovich Fokina said, when asked about the crowd’s behaviour.
‘So there were four ignorant drunks that I can do nothing about. Nothing more.’
Around 12 months ago, a similar incident happened on this very same court, when Danielle Collins was heckled by fans during her match against Aussie star Destanee Aiava.
After she claimed victory, Collins wildly celebrated by smacking her backside and blowing kisses at the fans who had booed her.
The American, who has been dubbed the ‘Danimal’, later hit out at the ‘super drunk’ fans, before thanking them for paying for her holiday bills.
‘During the match I was like, while I’m out here I might as well take that big fat pay cheque,’ Collins said while being booed in her on-court interview.
After bouncing back to seal victory in the final set, Davidovich Fokina celebrated wildly throwing his hat and racket onto the court before yelling at the crowd
‘We love a five-star vacation, so a big part of that will go towards that.
‘So thank you guys, thanks for coming out here and supporting us tonight. Thank you guys, love you.’
While she would eventually go on her Caribbean vacation, Collins was later jeered off the court after suffering a straight-sets defeat by eventual champion Madison Keys.
Collins, who ranks 67th on the WTA Tour, hasn’t returned this year for the Grand Slam.