Furious ninth seed Daniil Medvedev smashed up his racquets after suffering a shock first-round defeat at Wimbledon to French journeyman Benjamin Bonzi.
The combustible Russian, who reached the semi-finals last year, tumbled out 7-6 (2) 3-6 7-6 (3) 6-2 in just over three hours.
He angrily battered his racquets into his chair and his bag at the end while Bonzi celebrated the biggest win of his career.
It acts as a second consecutive first-round grand slam exit after losing his Roland Garros opener to Cameron Norrie - but the former US Open champion says he is looking to recent success at Halle for reassurance.
“I would be very worried if not for the Halle tournament, where I played well and managed to be in the final, playing a great level,” Medvedev said. “That’s why I can compare today’s match to this tournament. I feel like I didn’t play much worse.
“Court is a bit different. Tiny bit slower with the heat also. But every shot I played today, even good shots, he had an answer.
“I was supposed to play him or Halys in Halle. I watched the match. He couldn’t play two balls in the court - not two in a row.
“Today he barely missed. A little on the forehand, the backhand I remember maybe three unforced errors. I wish him to play like this.
“I saw the draw. If he plays how he did today, he’s definitely in the 4th round. Then it’s Fritz. Then it’s tougher. But I would not be surprised if he doesn’t play like this.”
Bonzi, ranked 64 in the world, has never been beyond the third round of a grand slam.
The 29-year-old said: "Daniil is a great player. I knew it was a tough match but sometimes it's good to play a tough match in the first round, anything can happen.
"He would get more confidence after some wins. Today it's 50-50. You have nothing to lose. It was a good time to play my A game.
"I knew I could do something big today, and today was my day."
Bonzi will face Australia’s Jordan Thompson in the second round on Wednesday after he came from two sets down to beat Vit Kopriva.
PA
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