Skysports.com picks out the most dramatic on-court rants in the history of tennis.
We pick out the most dramatic on-court meltdowns of all time
Serena Williams once again lost her cool during the recent US Open final, with umpire Eva Asderaski the latest official to come under her fire.
Arguing with the person in the chair is, of course, not new to tennis as several of the sport's biggest names are known for being accomplished exponents of a good old row with the boss.
Here
skysports.com picks out the 10 best on-court tantrums of all time, from crafty old foxes such as Nastase and Connors to simmering hot heads like McEnroe and Roddick, we run down the pick of the petulance.
Ilie Nastase, 1979 US Open
The Romanian was battling a then-teenaged John McEnroe in New York and was using every trick in the book, most of them outside the rules, to try and out-psyche his opponent. When the umpire took exception to this and penalised him, the Romanian refused the play on, causing him to be disqualified. But that was not the end as almost 20 minutes elapsed with Nastase continuing his antics. The rather surprising result saw him reinstated in the match, with the umpire being replaced.
John McEnroe, 1990 Australian Open
McEnroe could probably have a top 10 all to himself, but his most inglorious hour probably occurred against Mikael Pernfors in Melbourne. The American staged an almost match-long drama that saw him rack up three 'code violations' for his unruly behaviour. The 'Superbrat' was used to pushing the boundaries, but misjudged how far he could go and was disqualified under new rules.
Jimmy Connors, 1991 US Open
Connors may have been a 39-year-old at the 1991 US Open but that did not stop him from producing a fit of pique that an adolescent would be proud of. After a marginal line call went against him, the veteran called the sitting umpire "a bum", uttered several other slang names for one's rear end and demanded that he "get out of the chair". It fell on deaf ears, but Connors won the match, an epic with Aaron Kirckstein, anyway.
Jeff Tarango, 1995 Wimbledon
The unheralded American became a household name during Wimbledon in 1995 after he stormed out of his clash with Alexander Mronz. The umpire ruled that Tarango was guilty of an "audible obscenity" after he had told the crowd to shut up, leaving him with a "big beef". An appearance by the tournament referee only worsened the situation and Tarango eventually marched off the court in a fury.
Martina Hingis, 1999 French Open
A tantrum-induced collapse saw Hingis lose the final of the French Open to Steffi Graf after being on the brink of victory. The Swiss star, still only an 18-year-old, was up a set and a break when she stubbornly argued a line call with the umpire, even crossing the net to Graf's side to check the mark. Graf came back in the match and Hingis even served underarm twice during the capitulation, which ended with her leaving the court in tears. The French crowd were not sympathetic.
Lleyton Hewitt, 2001 US Open
Not one of the most spectacular tirades ever seen in tennis but one of the most controversial as Hewitt had to fend off accusations of racism after his fourth round clash with James Blake. The Aussie seemed to imply that a black line judge was being biased towards his opponent, telling the umpire to "look at him and tell me what the similarity is". Post-match, Hewitt apologised for any offence caused and Blake stated he would give him the benefit of the doubt.
Andy Roddick, 2001 US Open
In the very next round of the 2001 US Open Hewitt faced Roddick, who flew into a rage when umpire Jorge Diaz overruled a marginal call on the far sideline. Roddick, cap backwards and arms flailing wildly, played the perfect part of an angry teenager as he uttered an obscenity before asking the umpire if he was an "absolute moron". The American's tantrum cost him dear as he went on to drop the game, and lose the match, shortly afterwards.
Greg Rusedski, 2003 Wimbledon
What must the fan who clumsily decided to shout a marginal baseline ball "out" have been thinking as they watched Rusedski explode with rage moments later? The Brit was involved in a tight second-round clash with Andy Roddick when he stopped playing due to the confusing call and the umpire refused to replay the point. Rusedski was furious and treated a mid-afternoon television audience to a prolonged, expletive-filled rant, losing his focus and the match.
Mikhail Youzhny, 2008 Miami Masters
The strangest tennis tantrum of them all did not contain bad language or sulking but instead centred a rather disturbing display of frustration from the Russian. After netting a backhand, Youzhny turned away in exasperation and purposefully bashed himself in the head with his own racquet frame. Blood was pouring from a cut on his forehead soon afterwards but Youzhny, after medical attention, recovered to win the match.
Serena Williams, 2009 US Open
In the most celebrated of all Serena strops, the younger Williams sister forcefully spoke her mind after being foot-faulted by a line judge, who then scurried off to tell the umpire what was said. Amid confusion over whether or not she had threatened to kill the diminutive line judge, a demonstrative Serena was penalised a point on match point, handing the match to her opponent Kim Clijsters.
