Australian Open star tells crowd to 'shut up' as he accuses fan of having 'too much' beer
Denis Shapovalov complained to the umpire when he thought some fans had one drink "too much" and were disrupting his service game.
Denis Shapovalov told a member of the crowd to "shut up" during his second-round match against Taro Daniel as he complained about some loud spectators. The 20th seed was facing triple break point when he approached chair umpire Julie Kjendlie and said some fans in particular appeared to have "a beer too much" and were disturbing play.
Shapovalov was 0-40 down early on in his second round against Daniel when he started to complain about some rowdy spectators in the 1573 Arena, as commentators remarket that he appeared to be "a little bit upset by somebody in the stands.”
The 23-year-old could be seen muttering as he used his towel at the baseline and decide to approach the umpire before the next point to voice his frustrations. "It’s so excessive," he said.
"I mean they don’t need to be doing that, they had a beer too much and now they’re like fooling around, you know.” As Shapovalov was in conversation with Kjendlie, a fan in the crowd appeared to heckle him as he turned to face them and retorted: "Shut up."
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It seemed as though there was nothing she could do, with the world No 22 heard saying: "I understand but it’s excessive." He then retreated to the baseline to continue serving, and sharing his frustrations appeared to pay off as Shapovalov managed to save all three break points and didn't drop another game in the set, taking it 6-3.
Meanwhile, commentators suggested that spectators had been making noise on the structure of the court and claimed that it was the norm for the arena, saying: “There are fans who are banging on the tarp here inside 1573 Arena. That’s part of the deal inside this arena.”
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Shapovalov isn't the first player to complain about a fan he believes has been drinking, as Nick Kyrgios was famously forced to apologise and pay £20,000 when he claimed a spectator at last year's Wimbledon final had "like 700 drinks" and was shouting out and disrupting him. "Kick her out. I know exactly which one it is. The one in the dress, who looks like she’s had about 700 drinks bro," he said at the time.
But the fan in question - Ania Palus - sued the world No 21 and claimed she had just two drinks that day. Kyrgios was then forced to donate money to a charity of her choice and issued an apology, stating: "On 10 July 2022, during the Wimbledon Men’s Final, I told the umpire that a fan, who I now know to be Ania Palus, was distracting me during the match, believing that she was drunk.
"I accept that belief was mistaken, and I apologise. To make amends, I have donated £20,000 to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, a charity chosen by Ms Palus. I will not be commenting on this matter again."