Wimbledon: Pablo Cuevas and Marcel Granollers stage dramatic sit-down protest, threaten to urinate in ball can

Uruguay's Cuevas was refused a toilet break, prompting farcical scenes at SW19

Pablo Cuevas pleads with the umpire at Wimbledon over a toilet break (Getty)

Pablo Cuevas staged a dramatic sit-down protest and threatened to urinate in a ball can after being refused a toilet-break during his doubles defeat at Wimbledon on Monday evening.

Uruguay's Cuevas and Spaniard Marcel Granollers lost 6-3 4-6 6-4 3-6 14-12 to Britain's Jonathan Marray and Canadian Adil Shamasdin but proceedings on Court Seven were overshadowed as the pair fumed at the decisions of umpire Aurelie Tourte.

Cuevas hit the ball out of the court in frustration, forcing Tourte to hand out a second code violation and a one-point penalty, prompting the duo to then sit down and refuse to play the final game of the match at SW19.

Marray and Shamasdin eventually emerged as the victors, winning their second match point to secure a spot in the fourth round, after a supervisor was called in to ease the tension 15 minutes later.

Cuevas requested he be relieved temporarily before suggesting that he could urinate into the ball can – a proposal which lead to Tourte issuing the 30-year-old with his first code violation for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

“It was during a changeover,” Marray said afterwards. “Something to do with a can, something to do with bathroom breaks. I don't know what happened.

“I went to the bathroom twice during the match and obviously the fifth set was a long one. I think you should be allowed an extra toilet break if it's five sets.

“I don't think it's ever nice to see. You have to respect the officials regardless of whatever happened in the match.

“You can have a word or two but they're trying to do a job and you have to respect that. “You have to take some bad calls on the chin at some point and get on with playing the game, especially at a tournament like this but also throughout the whole year.”