Pablo Carreno Busta stormed off the court after losing to Kei Nishikori at the Australian Open on Monday, screaming in frustration over what he argued was an error in judgment from the umpire at a crucial moment in the fifth set.
Carreno Busta, the No. 23 seed in the men's field, was leading 8-5 in the fifth-set tiebreaker when one of his shots clipped the net and landed on the line. A line judge called the ball out, but Nishikori hit it past Carreno Busta anyway. The Spaniard then challenged the call, and a video review showed that the ball was in play.
Carreno Busta claimed the line judge had wrongfully called the ball out before Nishikori hit it, arguing to umpire Thomas Sweeney that the point should be replayed. Sweeney instead awarded it to seventh-seeded Nishikori, who won the next four points to win the match.
After shaking hands with Nishikori, Carreno Busta proceeded to throw his bag onto the court and yell at Sweeney before exiting.
He immediately apologized for his actions in a news conference after the match.
"Obviously I'm very sad because after five hours fighting, the way that I leave from the court wasn't correct, and I'm so sorry because that's not me," Carreno Busta said, according to the BBC.
"It's tough for me to leave the Australian Open like this, because I think I played an unbelievable match. Also Kei, he played really good."
Nishikori won the match 6-7 (8), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (8) and will face top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
