The 18th seed of the Australian Open men’s draw has been dumped in the first round in truly bizarre fashion after melting down following a late point penalty.
Nicolas Jarry was pushed in the heat at Melbourne Park by Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli on Monday, the pair going the distance in a four-hour contest on Court 13.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Nicolas Jarry melts down after penalty for repeated infraction.
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And it looked for all money like a match tiebreak was on the cards when Jarry was two points away from holding serve in the 12th game of the fifth set.
Instead, though, a spare ball fell out of his pocket as he moved left for a backhand — and the 28-year-old knew exactly what that meant.
Having already lost one ball from his shorts earlier in the match, Jarry slumped his shoulders as the chair umpire James Keothavong dished out a point penalty for the repeated infraction.
The Chilean took a short breather and lined up for his next serve — sans spare ball in his pocket — now holding a 30-15 lead in the game.
But if he thought he’d shook off the penalty he was immediately proved wrong.
Jarry went long on his first forehand of the next point then fluffed a serve-and-volley to bring up match point for Cobolli.
And one opportunity was all that was needed as Jarry slashed a backhand into the net and instantly smashed his racquet while his Italian opponent celebrated with a raucous crowd.
For his part, Jarry was all class after the match in not just shaking Cobolli’s hand but leaning down to offer a hug while shaking umpire Keothavong’s hand.
Cobolli’s reward for his first win in a main draw at a grand slam is a winnable second-round match against Pavel Kotov.
Jarry, who has never been past the second round at the Australian Open, will leave the country with $120,000 in prize money.
