Damir Dzumhur confronted Coleman Wong after going a double-break down in the final set (Image: Challenger TV)
Sparks flew at the Cap Cana Challenger as No. 3 seed Damir Dzumhur was booed off the court after losing to Coleman Wong in the round of 16. Things fell apart for Dzumhur in the final set, and he double-faulted to go a double-break down. Wong headed to his bench for the changeover with a 4-1 lead, and the 33-year-old marched over to confront him.
Wong, who got into the main draw as a lucky loser, had just come through a tight service game, saving three break points, before breaking Dzumhur to extend his lead. The world No. 123 was fired up, appearing to celebrate some of the Bosnian ace’s unforced errors.
When Dzumhur hit a double fault to get broken again, Wong looked towards his own team and pumped his fist, and the third seed wasn’t having it. “‘Yes’ on a double fault, huh?” Dzumhur asked, before Wong had even made it back to the sidelines.
The world No. 64 repeated the question over and over, to no avail. “I’m asking you, ‘yes’ on a double fault?” he asked, as chair umpire Raluca Andrei leaned down and tried to speak to him. “Damir, Damir. Por favour, please,” she was heard saying.
Wong remained seated on his bench, grabbing his towel and having a drink. But Dzumhur continued, stepping closer to the 21-year-old’s bench. “Funny, huh? Funny, huh? Funny, huh? Funny? Funny, huh?” he ranted. “Look at my face and laugh. Look at my face and laugh.”
The umpire asked him to walk away again. “Damir, please. Can you go and take a seat, please? Damir, he’s not going to answer you,” Andrei told the world No. 64. Dzumhur then turned to her, unloading his frustrations about Wong.
Damir Dzumhur snubbed a handshake with Coleman Wong after the match (Image: Challenger TV)
“Do you know what he is?” he repeated four times. “You know when a player towels down, you are not saying, ‘come on’, to your face, right?” Some fans in the stands started making noise and whistling as Dzumhur carried on.
The No. 3 seed finally retreated and sat at his bench, but he didn’t have long to rest, as the umpire called time a few seconds later. “Let’s see if you can laugh into my face after,” Dzumhur said as he got back up and walked past Wong to head to the baseline.
Wong didn’t respond, instead letting his tennis do the talking. The lucky loser sealed a 3-6 6-4 6-2 comeback victory, needing three match points to get the job done. Afterwards, Dzumhur refused to shake hands with his opponent, going straight for a handshake with the umpire before packing his bags.
Boos rang out in the stands of the Estadio Cap Cana when Dzumhur ignored Wong at the net. And the boos got louder as the 33-year-old walked off the court.
After losing in qualifying just two days ago, Wong now finds himself in the quarter-finals, where he faces rising Belgian star Alexander Blockx.
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