Australian Open hopeful Pavel Kotov let his emotions get the better of him on Sunday as he smashed a tennis ball onto the back wall of Court 6. The tantrum saw a ballgirl recoil in fear as Kotov wound up for the hit, but he escaped disqualification and ultimately clinched a spot in the second round.
Kotov’s opening match in Melbourne got off to the perfect start as he took a two-set lead over Arthur Rinderknech. But the Frenchman battled back, winning two consecutive tiebreaks to take the contest to a deciding set.
The high-stakes battle, which swung one way and then the other, saw Kotov momentarily lose his temper on Court 6. Having lost a point, he threw up the tennis ball, took a huge backswing and powered it onto the back wall.
A young ballgirl standing nearby instinctively turned away for fear of being struck by the 25-year-old, who was deemed fortunate by many to escape disqualification. Kotov’s angry reaction went completely unpunished by the umpire.
He subsequently regained control of his temper, as well as the match, to see out the deciding set 6-3. In the second round he will face either Flavio Cobolli or 18th seed Nicolas Jarry, who are due to meet on Monday.
Born in Moscow, Kotov’s victory over Rinderknech has seen him through to the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. The 25-year-old has previously been knocked out in the first round of the French Open, and twice at the US Open.
In preparation for his Grand Slam bid Down Under, Kotov battled to the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open earlier this month. His impressive run included a straight-sets win over Italian world No. 25 Lorenzo Musetti.
The Russian has worked his way up to a career-high 64 in the world rankings, with another solid showing at the Sofia Open in November boosting his stock.
Wins over seeded stars Sebastian Baez and Marton Fucsovics were followed by a defeat to Adrian Mannarino in the semi-finals. The victorious Frenchman went on to clinch the title himself by beating British youngster Jack Draper.
