A Russian tennis player was disqualified from an ITF Tour match despite being two games away from victory. Svyatoslav Gulin secured a double-break lead over Alejo Sanchez Quilez in the final set of their M25 Sabadell clash when he turned to the umpire and started making obscene gestures.
The No. 6 seed at the Spanish ITF event, Gulin was immediately defaulted with the score at 7-5 3-6 4-0. This meant Sanchez Quilez, who needed a wildcard to get into the tournament, advanced to the second round.
After dropping the second set, Gulin was keen to get the match done quickly and secured a double-break advantage when Sanchez Quilez sent a ball long.
The world No. 407 reacted, immediately turning to the umpire and yelling something in Spanish while pointing to his groin.
Gulin continued his actions as he walked back to the baseline to start serving. But Sanchez Quilez walked over to the umpire’s chair, and the Russian joined them before being defaulted.
The ITF website confirmed that the Spanish wildcard had advanced to the second round as a result of his opponent’s disqualification.
He will now face either Nick Hardt or Spanish qualifier Alejandro Juan Mano.
Gulin had been on a tear on the ITF circuit before getting defaulted. He is currently ranked at a career-high of No. 405 and recently went on an eight-match winning streak.
The 22-year-old won back-to-back M15 ITF titles in Turkey last month and reached the semi-final of another event before losing to Sergey Fomin.
Gulin was hoping to get back to winning ways in Spain, but his outburst meant that he was sent out of the tournament.
Players who are defaulted from tournaments typically lose all ranking points and prize money earned at the event.
The ITF rulebook states: “The ITF Supervisor/Referee may declare a default for any misconduct violation of the Code.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk