Melbourne - By his own admission, Jerzy Janowicz didn't just argue with the Australian Open chair umpire during a tense first-set tie-break against India's Somdev Devvarman, he went a little "nuts."
Leading 9-8 in the tie-break on Wednesday, the 2.03m Janowicz snapped when his opponent hit a forehand down the line he believed was out. The chair umpire, Marija Cicak, ruled otherwise.
Evidently feeling he'd been wronged by Cicak previously, the Pole began screaming at her, "How many times? How many times?" before dropping to his knees on the court and spitting on the line. "I'm begging you!" he screamed at Cicak.
VIDEO: Jerzy Janowicz meltdown
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Australian Open, men's morning session, Day 3
"I was just worried about his voice," Devvarman said. "I mean, the guy was yelling at the top of his lungs and I was like, 'Dude, just calm down.'"
After losing the tie-break 12-10, Janowicz's tirade continued. He hit the umpire's chair and tossed a water bottle across the court. That earned him a code violation.
The 24th-seeded Pole finally prevailed in the four-hour match, 6-7 (10/12), 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, 7-5. Now he must wait and see if he receives a fine for his outburst.
"You can't control your emotions all the time," he said in a much better mood after the match. "Actually, I went nuts. I calmed down little bit later on. Sometimes I have problem to control by emotions, but I'm trying to work on this."
Asked if he ever hit an umpire's chair before, he smiled sheepishly. "Maybe," he said.
International Tennis Federation officials said they will review the umpire's reports in the morning and decide whether a fine is warranted. Janowicz, for one, believes he should be in the clear. "I didn't say anything bad, so I hope I not have to pay."
By late Wednesday, Janowicz's outburst had been viewed 10 435 times on YouTube. He has a ways to go before he matches Marcos Baghdatis's temper tantrum during last year's Australian Open when the Cypriot smashed four rackets in a row. That video has been viewed 1.4 million times and counting.
Results from day three of the Australian Open on Wednesday:
Women's singles
Second round
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x4) bt Irina-Camelia Begu (ROM) 6-3, 6-3
Angelique Kerber (GER x5) bt Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 6-3, 6-1
Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) bt Klara Zakopalova (CZE x23) 6-1, 6-0
Julia Goerges (GER x18) bt Romina Oprandi (SUI) 6-3, 6-2
Valeria Savinykh (RUS) bt Dominika Cibulkova (SVK x15) 7-6 (8/6), 6-4
Li Na (CHN x6) bt Olga Govortsova (BLR) 6-2, 7-5
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS x19) bt Stephanie Foretz Gacon (FRA) 6-3, 6-3
Madison Keys (USA) bt Tamira Paszek (AUT x30) 6-2, 6-1
Zheng Jie (CHN) bt Samantha Stosur (AUS x9) 6-4, 1-6, 7-5
Sorana Cirstea (ROM x27) bt Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
Maria Sharapova (RUS x2) bt Misaki Doi (JPN) 6-0, 6-0
Ana Ivanovic (SRB x13) bt Chan Yung-Jan (TPE) 7-5, 1-6, 6-4
Heather Watson (GBR) bt Ksenia Pervak (KAZ) 4-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2
Jelena Jankovic (SRB x22) bt Maria Joao Koehler (POR) 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2
Marion Bartoli (FRA x11) bt Vesna Dolonc (SRB) 7-5, 6-0
Venus Williams (USA x25) bt Alize Cornet (FRA) 6-3, 6-3
Men's singles
Second record
Nicolas Almagro (ESP x10) bt Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 6-4, 6-1, 6-2
Kei Nishikori (JPN x16) bt Carlos Berlocq (ARG) 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-1
Sam Querrey (USA x20) bt Brian Baker (USA) 6-7 (2/7), 1-1 ret
Jurgen Melzer (AUT x26) bt Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-2
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI x15) bt Tobias Kamke (GER) 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) ret
Jerzy Janowicz (POL x24) bt Somdev Devvarman (IND) 6-7 (10/12), 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, 7-5
Tomas Berdych (CZE x5) bt Guillaume Rufin (FRA) 6-2, 6-2, 6-4
David Ferrer (ESP x4) bt Tim Smyczek (USA) 6-0, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
Marcos Baghdatis (CYP x28) bt Tatsuma Ito (JPN) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) bt Mikhail Youzhny (RUS x23) 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Julien Benneteau (FRA x32) bt Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5)
Radek Stepanek (CZE x31) bt Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 6-2, 6-2, 6-4
Kevin Anderson (RSA) bt Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) 6-1, 7-5, 6-4
Fernando Verdasco (ESP x22) bt Xavier Malisse (BEL) 6-1, 6-3, 6-2
Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) bt Ryan Harrison (USA) 6-1, 6-2, 6-3
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB x8) bt Lukas Lacko (SVK) 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5