Austrian Stefan Koubek was thrown out of the French Open on Thursday after throwing his racket and hitting a ballboy.
Koubek was on the brink of defeat to Hungarian qualifier Attila Savolt when the incident happened in their second-round match.
Savolt won 3-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-0, 5-2 when Koubek was defaulted.
The Austrian had been given three warnings earlier in the match, said umpire Stefan Fransson.
Koubek was warned in the match first for "coaching", secondly for throwing his racket (point penalty), thirdly for verbal abuse (game penalty) and then finally for the incident, in which his racket brushed against the ballboy, which was deemed unsporting behavior.
The 23-year-old Koubek apologized profusely for his antics at a post-match press conference - but maintained he should not have been pulled up for coaching.
"I hit the ballboy with the racket - not on purpose, of course - but it happened," he explained.
"I was mad that I got a warning for coaching when there was no coaching. Then he (the umpire) made a call, which was ridiculous - so I got mad at him.
"I'm disappointed, of course, that it went this far but it happened and I can't change anything.
Koubek revealed he had asked the ballboy if he was all right.
"I went right to him and said I was sorry," he said. "He was scared, of course."
Koubek admitted he had once been disqualified from a satellite event and told reporters: "I've had a lot of warnings in my life already!"
Savolt earned a third-round meeting with ninth-seeded Australian Lleyton Hewitt while 23-year-old Koubek faces a hefty fine - (AFP)
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