Tennis star Thanasi Kokkinakis caught up in fiery post-match clash with Jaume Munar at Madrid Open
Aussie tennis star Thanasi Kokkinakis is involved in a fiery post-match clash at the net after telling his opponent to shut up during a heartbreaking loss
- Kokkinakis went down at Madrid Open
- Was involved in fiery post-match brawl
- Scenes became heated after the collision
Aussie tennis star Thanasi Kokkinakis is popular with fans for his affable demeanor – but he put that aside in a fiery post-game match following a loss to Spanish opponent Jaume Munar on Wednesday.
Kokkinakis lost the Madrid Open 6-7 (7-9) 6-7 (3-7) despite multiple set points against Munar, who is currently ranked 88th.
But the real story of the two-hour, 37-minute encounter was the altercation between the pair at the net after the fiery match.
During the first-set tiebreak, Kokkinakis was outraged when he thought he saw Munar talking to his coach’s box, and pointed it out to chairman umpire Mohamed Lahyani.
“Bro, don’t shut up,” the Aussie shot at Munar, who then complained about Kokkinakis talking.
Aussie star Thanasi Kokkinakis (right) was involved in a fiery post-match brawl with Jaume Munar following their clash at the Madrid Open
Kokkinakis, photographed at the Australian Open earlier this year, refused to back down when confronted by Munar
Jaume Munar was elated after beating Kokkinakis in straight sets
“I just thought it was rich of him to complain about talking because he’s been doing the same thing all the time,” Kokkanakis told Lahyani at the time.
At one point, Kokkanakis got a time violation and neither point was lost to Munar after the match, who loudly celebrated his victory.
“Don’t tell me to shut up again,” the Spaniard said as the pair met at the net to shake hands, to which Kokkinakis belligerently replied, “Or what?”
The pair continued to argue for several minutes, with Lahyani attempting to intervene.
“I wasn’t mad at you, I was talking to him (Lahyani),” Kokkinakis said, insisting that he hadn’t told him to shut up during the match.
“You said I said something to my team, and I didn’t,” Munar claimed, though the Aussie said, “I saw you looking.”
Kokkinakis, pictured with girlfriend Hannah Dal Sasso at the Australian Grand Prix earlier this month, is in poor form to start the 2022 season
The Aussie blew a 5-2 lead in the second set, with unforced errors haunting him despite beating 35 winners in the loss
The heated debate continued before the pair split and agreed to disagree, before Munar took to the stands to celebrate with his home fans.
It is another disappointing loss for Kokkinakis, who has only one four ATP matches on clay.
The Aussie star blew a 5-2 lead in the second set, beating 35 winners, but unforced errors – 45 in all – continued to haunt him, and he’s unfortunately been in poor form since going out in the second round. of the Australian Open in January.
He is now ranked 111th in the world and will desperately hope for a turnaround in fortunes.