- A French tennis star had to retire after hurting himself in an on-court meltdown
- Arthur Rinderknech kicked an advertising hoarding as he struggled in his match
- He had been two sets up but went on a bad run and loses out on a personal best
A French tennis star had to abandon his dreams at his home tournament after injuring himself in a senseless mid-match outburst.
Arthur Rinderknech was 2-1 up in sets against Tomas Martin Etcheverry but 2-0 down in the fourth set when he kicked an advertising hoarding in frustration.
Within seconds his foolishness dawned on him as he struggled to walk and he eventually slipped to 5-0 down in the fourth set before retiring.
Having taken a surprise lead, this was the world number 69’s chance to reach the third round at the French Open for the first time.
His first-round men’s doubles match alongside Nuno Borges has also been cancelled.
French tennis player Arthur Rinderknech had to abandon his match after kicking an ad board
He couldn’t carry on despite treatment and threw away a chance to reach a maiden third round
Rinderknech got off to a flyer by taking the first two sets 6-3, 7-6 (10-8).
From that commanding position he only lost one more game, however, in an extraordinary collapse.
Number 28 seed Etcheverry took the third set 6-1 and then broke the Frenchman’s serve to start off the fourth.
Rinderknech was irate with himself for hitting the net with a limp backhand and furiously kicked one of the advertising boards with his left foot.
Instant regret hit as he felt hit foot and after slipping to 5-0 down, a visibly fuming Rinderknech received attention from a medic, who strapped up his big toe.
After that he wandered back on court and looked as if he might continue but he concluded that he could not continue.
Hobbling to the net, he discarded his racquet and shook hands with Etcheverry having made a costly error.
The prize money for reaching the third round is almost £135,000 but he will have to settle for £94,000 – still good money – after throwing away the chance to progress.
He had been two sets up at once stage against heavily fancied Tomas Martin Etcheverry
‘I feel very good physically but I just messed up,’ he told French sports newspaper L’Equipe.
‘I kicked into the wall, a little annoyed, at 2-0 when I got broken in the fourth set.
”I don’t really know at the moment, but I hope I didn’t break the toe myself. Afterwards, I could no longer put my foot on the ground.’
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