Yoshihito Nishioka has spoken out after suffering a meltdown during his second-round defeat at the Cincinnati Open.
The Japanese star led fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz by a set. After he was pulled into a decider, his tempers flared and he smashed three balls in frustration, getting a point penalty and a game penalty.
Nishioka has now confessed that he was carrying “frustration” as things reached boiling point when he got broken in the third set.
It was a bad day at the office for the world No. 52. He looked to be on upset alert when he took the first set against Hurkacz but the Pole stormed back and won the second set in a tiebreak.
The No. 5 seed pounced on a break point as Nishioka served at 1-2 down, firing a return winner to secure the break. Nishioka lost it. He sent a ball flying into the air, asked the ball girl for another, and repeated his action.
The umpire gave him a code violation and he received a point penalty, meaning Hurkacz started the next game with a 15-0 lead. When he won the next point to lead 30-0, Nishioka smashed another ball out of the court and was immediately called for another violation – this time it led to a game penalty.
During the next changeover, Nishioka found a rogue chair behind the advertising boards at the back of the court and sat down, muttering to himself and his team. Hurkacz went on to win 3-6 7-6(4) 6-1 as the 28-year-old failed to win another game. And Nishioka has now addressed the tough match.
“Until the middle of the second set, he looked a little bit tired,” the world No. 52 told Tennis.com. “He was having some problems with his back. He wasn’t playing his best tennis, and I could see that, so I maybe had a chance to win today.
“In the very important points, he played amazingly and maybe got some luck. I had 19 break points and I only won 10 per cent, which is unusual. To be honest, I got a little bit unlucky today.”
Addressing his outburst, Nishioka continued: “I was already frustrated before the tiebreak. In the third set when he broke me, and I felt like everything went to him and nothing to me. I played okay, but everything went to him, so that’s where the frustration was coming from.”
The three-time title winner also apologised for letting the match slip away. “I’m very sorry to my fans, I showed my best tennis until the second set when I couldn’t,” he added.
As for Hurkacz, the world No. 7 will now face Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in the round of 16.