WATCH: “Should be disqualified”- Russian ATP player bashed by tennis fans for an ‘absolutely disgusting’ meltdown scaring a ballgirl

Pavel Kotov's unjustified attitude during the first round of the Australian Open received a lot of negative reactions on Twitter.

WATCH: “Should be disqualified”- Russian ATP player bashed by tennis fans for an ‘absolutely disgusting’ meltdown scaring a ballgirl

Pavel Kotov (image via Imago)

The World No. 64 Pavel Kotov defeated Arthur Rinderknech in the first round of the Australian Open. However, as things turned out, his questionable attitude during the match led to much more media attention than the results of the match. 

During the match, the Russian player was disappointed with his play for a period of time. Owing to this, Pavel Kotov took his frustration on the tennis ball. He grabbed the ball and hit it with full force against the wall behind him. 

YouTube video

However, a ball girl was standing right next to it. Though the ball didn’t hit her, neither was too close to her. The hit was enough to cause her to turn away. As expected, the incident caused a flurry of negative reactions against the Russian player. 

FS Video

That’s not all; many fans have even urged disqualifying the player from the tournament. At the time of writing, Kotov hasn’t faced any official repercussions. 

However, if the ball had hit the ball girl, the Russian player would surely have been disqualified from the tournament. Kotov secured the win eventually in the fifth set of the match.

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Pavel Kotov receives a lot of criticism for his unjustified action during the Australian Open

Players being aggressive on the court is a normal thing in tennis. However, nearly hitting a ball girl in anger and frustration during a match is not something fans approve of.

Kotov has been slammed left and right on Instagram in the comment section of Wide World of Sports in Australia. Sharing a wide spectrum of negative reactions online, here’s what users have to say: 

The Russian tennis player Pavel Kotov's unjustified actions during the first round of the Australian Open receives a lot of hate on Twitter.
Reactions against Pavel Kotov (image via: Instagram)

With the win, however, Kotov qualifies for the second round of the Australian Open. He will be up against Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday.

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