Australian Open: Carreno Busta hurls bag in furious on-court meltdown after Nishikori loss
PABLO CARRENO BUSTA suffered an astonishing on-court meltdown after being knocked out of the Australian Open by Kei Nishikori.
Pablo Carreno Busta lost his cool in spectacular fashion after losing an epic five-set encounter against Kei Nishikori.
The Spaniard had a two set lead but was pegged back by the eighth seed before losing the final set tie-break.
The extraordinary match lasted just over five hours, with Nishikori eventually booking his spot in the quarter-finals with a 6-7 (8-10), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) victory.
However, Carreno Busta left the court screaming at the umpire after a controversial line-call denied him a point when leading 8-5 in the deciding tie-break.
His shot was incorrectly called out before Nishikori hit a winner, meaning the point should have been replayed.
Carreno Busta congratulated his opponent after the defeat but then hurled his kit across the court in the direction of the locker room.
The 27-year-old turned to scream at the umpire as he made his way from the arena, with many fans on Twitter sympathising with the player’s frustration.
Carreno Busta has since apologised for his actions, saying: “I am very sad. The way I leave from the court wasn’t correct. I am so sorry.”
Nishikori will face either Novak Djokovic or Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals, having now spent 13 hours and 47 minutes on court during his last four matches.
The Japanese star is averaging almost three and a half hours per match during his run in the tournament so far.
Joking after the match, the 29-year-old said: "I feel it's not enough.
"It's not easy of course. I will try to recover well on Tuesday."