'Get off the court' - Denis Shapovalov explains explosive 'shut the f*** up!' rant at fans at Italian Open

Denis Shapovalov has attempted to explain his foul-mouthed rant at fans during his Italian Open clash with Lorenzo Sonego in Rome. Shapovalov was handed a game penalty during his 7-6(5) 3-6 6-3 win over the Italian in the first round of the ATP event after a furious exchange with the umpire over a second serve. Ad/> The Canadian then proceeded to engage in a frosty discussion with the supervisor by the side of the court while also letting rip at fans who he felt were heckling him.

He has now tried to provide further context behind his outbursts. WTA RomeSwiatek's dilemma, Raducanu's accidental swear and Shapovalov's lesson — Rome diary12 HOURS AGO «He was just telling me to get off the court, get out of there, waving me off the court, trying to obviously get under my skin or whatnot,» Shapovalov told a press conference. «I think the umpire just needs to keep an eye on it if a player mentions something.

»The reason why [the heckler] didn't get kicked out was because [the umpire] told me he didn't see what happened. That's very understandable. I feel like he kept an eye on him after that.

It didn't bother me after that. «I think in the NBA there's a lot of hecklers and stuff like that. They're pretty strict, the security and everything, that [the fans] don't cross the line.

If they do, they're kicked out right away. »Obviously, I think it's a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing. I just need to improve with handling myself about that," he continued.

«But in terms of going forward, I've played in Rome a lot of times. The fans love me here and I love the fans… Even after the match, there were a lot of people standing, waiting for pictures, stuff like that. »I do really appreciate the sport and the love I get here.