MELBOURNE - Denis Shapovalov claims he's got the smallest bladder on tour and the Canadian was not impressed when an umpire at the Australian Open denied his request for a toilet break.
The world number 11 had dropped the fourth set of a five-set epic against Italian teenager Jannik Sinner that finished in the early hours of Tuesday and desperately needed to relieve himself.
"What happens if I go?" asked the 21-year-old, "Do I get a fine? I don't care!" he ranted at German umpire Nico Helwerth, who turned down his request.
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"What do you mean, I can't go? Are you going to disqualify me? I have to pee!"
He stepped up his tirade when it became clear the umpire would not relent.
"I'm going to piss my pants!" he said. "I'm going to piss in a bottle."
After coming through the high-pressure first-round match 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in just under four hours, he explained that he needed to use the bathroom more than other players.
"First of all, I was just blowing off steam, just kind of cooling my head, getting rid of it," he said.
"But also I do think it's a dumb rule. Especially for me, I've got the smallest bladder ever, so I literally got to take a piss every set. So it's difficult, especially when you're on that court for so long.
"Before the match I'm trying to hydrate as much as possible, so yeah, I gotta pee, man."
The tournament rules that state players are entitled to just one toilet break during a best of three sets match and two for a five-setter.
"I do think that we should be able to take more breaks and go to the wash room, because we are forced -- not forced, but we could be on the court for three, four hours," added Shapovalov.
"So I think even taking those little breaks ... I think we deserve it."
Shapovalov next plays Australian Bernard Tomic.
AFP