Canadian Denis Shapovalov swears at fans amid chorus of boos at Italian Open

Shapovalov swears at crowd at Italian Open Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov lost his cool with an official and then swore at the crowd at the Italian Open.

Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov lost his cool at the Italian Open, shouting "shut the f—up" at fans as a chorus of boos rained down upon him.

The 23-year-old squared off against Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the first round of the Open in Rome on Monday.

Shapovalov was down 3-4 in the second set when he crossed the net to check a ball mark on Sonego's side of the court and was given a code violation.

The Canadian began to argue the code violation with chair umpire Richard Haigh when the hometown crowd began booing him. Shapovalov quickly turned from the umpire to direct a message at the crowd.

"Shut the f—up!" Shapovalov belted.

The Richmond Hill, Ont., native won the marathon match 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3 in just under three hours 11 minutes.

He went on to apologize to Haigh following the match.

--with a file from the Associated Press