Nalbandian fined $12K and faces assault inquiry

Posted on 11 months ago

LONDON (Agencies) David Nalbandian was fined the maximum $12,560 and placed under police investigation for assault after kicking an advertising board and injuring a line judge during the Queen's Club final.
The ATP confirmed the fine for unsportsmanlike conduct on Monday and said the Argentine player also was stripped of his $57,350 in prize money.
London police, meanwhile, said they were investigating a complaint of assault filed against Nalbandian, who was defaulted from Sunday's match against Marin Cilic in the grass-court Wimbledon warmup event.
Police declined to say who made the complaint. Any member of the public who witnessed the event in person or on television could have made a complaint, as could the line judge himself.
Nalbandian won the first set 7-6 (3) but lost his temper after losing serve to fall behind 3-4 in the second. After missing a running forehand on game point, he kicked the board under the chair of line judge Andrew McDougall.
A piece of the board cut the judge on the left shin, leaving him bloodied from an inch-long gash. Tournament director Chris Kermode said McDougall received first aid but needed no further treatment after seeing a doctor.
Nalbandian was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. ATP rules state that any violent action will result in an automatic default. Nalbandian, who is still scheduled to play at Wimbledon when it starts on Monday, insisted he shouldn't have been disqualified.
Kvitova stunned
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The Czech, seeded second at the AEGON International, was second-best to the world number 48 throughout the match. Makarova, who won the tournament in 2010, missed a chance to close out the match as Kvitova finally cut out the errors and hit a flurry of winners to win a break back, but the Russian 24-year-old was not to be denied.
Makarova now meets the winner of Laura Robson's match against Maria Jose Sanchez Martinez. Makarova is joined in 2ond round by number five seed Angelique Kerber of Germany who beat Russia's Elena Vesnina 3-6 6-0 7-5.
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DEN BOSCH: U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur lost in the opening round of the Unicef Open on Monday, falling 7-6 (7), 6-3 to Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.
Flipkens served nine aces while the top-seeded Stosur double-faulted seven times at the grass-court warmup for Wimbledon. On Sunday, Kim Clijsters returned from a three-month hip injury to beat fifth-seeded Romina Oprandi of Switzerland 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3.
On the men's side, third-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria will play Igor Kunitsyn of Russia later Monday.

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