"How long are we going to keep allowing these things?": Days after default, Denis Shapovalov backs Jordan Thompson's Cincinnati Open fan confrontation
Denis Shapovalov defended Jordan Thompson following his confrontation with heckling fans during his first-round clash against Ugo Humbert at the Cincinnati Open. The Aussie triumphed 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) over the Frenchman to book his place in the second round of the Masters 1000 event.
During the match, two fans sitting in the front row repeatedly mocked Thompson. Moreover, one of them ( who wore a white shirt) had reportedly placed a bet on Humbert on 'DraftKings'.
Chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani later intervened after Thompson complained about this, and told the fans to be quiet. However, they still continued to mock Thompson, prompting him to confront them.
Later, with Thompson trailing 2-5 in the second set, the security officials warned the fan to halt his misconduct or he would be taken out. During the exchange, the individual explained that he had placed a bet on Humbert.
However, he didn't stop provoking Jordan Thompson from the stands, particularly when the Aussie was trailing 5-4 in the third set. The heckler shouted that he wanted to see Nick Kyrgios instead of the World No. 32, leaving most of the fans in the arena frustrated, as the heckler was not removed from the stadium despite his behavior.
The third set reached a tiebreaker, where Thompson received overwhelming support from the crowd, eventually standing triumphant over Ugo Humbert.
A fan who saw the match live from the stands shared the entire incident on X.
Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov later came in support of Thompson, criticizing the management for allowing these incidents to occur.
"So @atptour how long are we going to keep allowing these things to go on?" Shapovalov wrote on X ( formerly Twitter).
Jordan Thompson will face Sebastian Baez in the second round of the 2024 Cincinnati Open
Jordan Thompson is scheduled to face Argentina's Sebastian Baez in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati. This will be Thompson's second encounter with the World No. 20.
The Argentine, who narrowly beat Marcos Giron in the first round of the Masters 1000 event, has won 30 out of 49 matches so far throughout the 2024 season, with most of his wins coming on clay. Baez has won just four out of nine fixtures on hard courts so far this year, with his best performance being reaching the third round of the Australian Open.
Baez and Thompson will lock horns for the second time, with the former winning their previous encounter in Mallorca last year.