Australian Open: Denis Shapovalov rants after being denied toilet break

Denis Shapovalov. Pic/AFP

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. "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 washroom, 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.

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