The incident involving Arnaud Gabas that resulted in Denis Shapovalov’s disqualification from the Davis Cup has had little impact on his sense of humor.
Gabas was officiating the decisive tie between Great Britain and Canada in Ottawa. Kyle Edmund was leading the match by two sets against Shapovalov before the umpire felt the full force of the teenagers frustration. Moments after getting broken in the third set, Shapovalov smash the ball out of temper, which inadvertently hit Gabas in the left eye.
CRAZY: Canada’s Denis Shapovalov DQ’d from the Davis Cup and fined £5,600 for hitting the umpire. 😵🎾
(🎥 @MailOnline)pic.twitter.com/MH5j40pO8Q— SPORF (@Sporf) 6 February 2017
Following the shocking turn of the events, the Canadian was disqualified and later fined $7000 for his behaviour. Fortunately, hospital checks found that there was no severe damage was done to Gabas’ eye. The 17-year-old has since issued a public apology concerning his behaviour.
“I feel incredibly ashamed and embarrassed and I just feel awful for letting my team down, for letting my country down, for acting in a way that I would never want to act,” Shapovalov said following his disqualification.
Left with a black eye, Gabas told multiple British newspapers that he was ‘lucky‘ the damage wasn’t anything more severe. He has also accepted the apology given from the current Wimbledon Boys’ champion.
“He was remorseful and shocked when he came to apologise.” Said Gabas.
“At the moment I’m OK, I’m on painkillers, but I have an appointment to see a specialist when I get home.”
Speaking about the incident on Sunday, the Frenchman jokingly drew parallels between himself and Rocky Balboa moments after he suffered the injury.
“I came off the court looking like Rocky Balboa.” He said.
“The video is quite shocking to look at. We have to avoid some balls during the season but this one I had no chance.
“I feel quite lucky it wasn’t worse.
“Players can be a bit crazy these days. I could see he was angry and that something was coming but I never thought he would hit me.”
Since the mishap, numerous figures within the Canadian tennis community has spoken out in support of Shapovalov. It’s expected that he will face no further action from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) following his fine.
