Hubert Hurkacz makes bizarre never-before-seen suggestion to opponent amid French Open feud with umpire
Hubert Hurkacz was not prepared to go down without a fight as he exited the French Open in the fourth round.
The number 8 seed suffered a straight sets defeat to Grigor Dimitrov, losing 6-7 (7) 4-6 6-7 (7), and found himself increasingly frustrated with the umpire throughout the match.
And his anger reached boiling point towards the end of the final set, when he was left furious with one of his shots being called out whilst leading 5-4.
Although replays showed the call to be correct, Hurkacz continued to rage at match official Alison Hughes, repeatedly shouting: "Call the supervisor!"
But his antics were not yet finished, as the Polish star then had a bizarre suggestion for his opponent during the changeover later on.
After making a substitution gesture, the 27-year-old approached Dimitrov and asked him: "You wanna continue? You wanna continue with the lady here or you wanna change?"
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Appearing confused, the Hungarian quizzed: “Wanna continue with what?”
Hurkacz then clarified that he was looking to change the chair umpire: “I mean if you wanna continue with the lady here or you’re fine or you wanna change.
"That’s what I’m saying, up to you.”
Dimitrov continued to seem stunned by his opponent, shrugging before telling his rival: “Honestly it’s whatever you wanna do.”
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Ultimately, Hurkacz chose not to pursue the idea any further, and found his time on court come to an end shortly after, as he went on to lose the set and match on a tiebreak.
The victory saw Dimitrov advance to the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros for the first time in his career, and he appeared unfazed by the game's major talking point after the match.
In his on-court interview, the world number 10 spoke highly of his counterpart: “It’s very hard to play against such a good friend. I’ve known him for quite a few years.
“We practise a lot and we’ve had quite a few moments together. I knew it was going to be a difficult match, but I knew also that I had to fight a lot."
Meanwhile Hurkacz appeared to offer an explanation for his behaviour on social media after the match, as he thanked fans whilst mentioning the 'passion and heat' of his French Open campaign.
He wrote on X: "Highs and lows are part of the journey, as well as the passion and heat, but it’s all love and respect in the end.
"Grateful for such a fantastic support I felt from match to match. You guys are the best fans in the world! Focused on the future. See you soon!"
Dimitrov will be hoping to avoid similar drama in his next encounter, where he battle world number 2 and current Australian Open champion Jannick Sinner for a place in the final four of the competition.