May 5 (Reuters) - Tristan Boyer is struggling to make an impact with his tennis this season but is building quite a reputation for temper tantrums after a spectacular meltdown during a Challenger series event in Italy on Monday.
The third-seeded American lost his cool when, having lost the opening set, he gave up his serve to go 6-5 down to teenager Daniele Rapagnetta in their clash at the Francavilla al Mare Open.
The 25-year-old, who was a clear favourite to win the round of 32 match against the world number 938, reacted by repeatedly smashing his racket on the court in frustration.
An initial warning failed to stem the American's fury and, as Boyer raged on, the umpire docked him a game for racket abuse to hand Rapagnetta the match victory.
Boyer exploded again, abusing the umpire with a string of expletives and breaking another racket on the official's chair.
He smashed a couple more on a courtside bench as he continued his tirade before walking off court and slamming the door loudly behind him.
There were similar scenes at the San Diego Open last year when Boyer was handed a time violation mid-match and erupted at the chair umpire, smashing his racket in rage before storming off court.
Boyer, who was ranked just outside the top 100 in the world in September last year, has won one ATP Tour match and three at the lower Challenger level this year.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Mulvenney and Sonali Paul)
