Janowicz admits he 'went nuts' in Open meltdown
Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz reacts after a point against India’s Somdev Devvarman during their men’s singles match on day three of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 16, 2013. Janowicz admitted he “went nuts” and expected to be fined after an extraordinary meltdown during his marathon Australian Open victory over Devvarman.
MELBOURNE (AFP): Polish giant Jerzy Janowicz admitted he “went nuts” and expected to be fined after an extraordinary meltdown during his marathon Australian Open victory over India’s Somdev Devvarman Wednesday.
The 24th seed screamed his discontent at a line call when he led 9-8 in the tiebreaker of his 6-7 (10/12), 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, 7-5 triumph.
The imposing 2.03 metres (6ft 8ins) tall Janowicz repeatedly yelled “How many times” before falling to his knees and continuing his tirade.
He faces sanctioning from the International Tennis Federation for angrily hitting the umpire’s chair with his racquet at the completion of the first set.
“The umpires, they’re making so many mistakes,” Janowicz said.
“One of the most important mistakes was set point in the tiebreak, 9-8. Was a shanked forehand from Devvarman. The ball was really slow, it was clean out,” he said.
“I was already happy, I was already shouting ‘come on.’ But the referees didn’t say anything. This was the moment when I went nuts.
“Sometimes it happens like this. Sometimes I have a problem to control my emotions, but I’m trying to work on this.”
The ITF will announce on Thursday if Janowicz will be fined.
He was unable to compete at the Australian Open last year because with a world ranking of 221, he could not afford the airfare to Melbourne. He has since taken his ranking to number 26 and accumulated career prizemoney of more than US$660,000.
“This changed my life, but not changed me,” he said.
“All the time, I’m the same crazy person, and I hope it is going to be the same all the time.”
Asked if he had ever gone “as nuts” in a match, Janowicz smiled: “Yeah.”
On whether it was the first time he had struck an umpire’s chair, he replied more sheepishly: “Maybe.”
Devvarman said he had never witnessed an outburst like the one delivered by Janowicz, whose tantrum was attracting a stream of YouTube viewers shortly after the match.
An outburst by Marcos Baghdatis at the Australian Open last year, when the Cypriot smashed four racquets during a changeover, has since had 1.4 million hits on YouTube.
“I was thinking dude, relax,” Devvarman said.
“He is a friend and I have played him before. He got a little upset with a couple of calls.
“I’m the kind of guy who goes out there and works, regardless of what is happening on the other side of the net. I played him three or four years ago and he was only a baby back then.
“He’s improved so much, you can see it in his game, his maturity, although … “
Janowicz might have earned the ire of officialdom, but spectators were on his side. Walking off court, a group of girls gave him flowers. “This was me,” Janowicz said. “Never, never happen to me before.”