World No.49 Alexander Bublik might have thought twice about joking with the crowd during his quarter-final match, copping criticism for placing his opponent in an "awkward spot".
Bublik, who arrived in Montpellier as the defending champion, was broken three times against American Aleksandar Kovacevic to lose 3-6 2-6 in 76 minutes.
Never short of causing controversy, the 27-year-old delivered another surprising stunt, handing his racquet to a ball boy down 3-6 1-5.
Usually, this sort of move is saved for an exhibition match, not an ATP 250 event.
Over 24 hours have passed since the incident, and fans on social media were left unimpressed by Bublik's supposed hilarious act.
One X user wrote, "It's not an exhibition. He should have been fined for that. Enough of his clowning."
"Such an awkward spot for Kovacevic. Guy grinding it out trying to change his life by winning this tournament & in the middle of the match you have a top 35 guy who makes millions pulling this [because] he decided this week no longer matters to him & he's onto the next one," wrote another fan.
The same account added, "This is a joke. This is a quarter-final. It's supposed to be serious."
This isn't the first time Bublik has made headlines for all the wrong reasons, accused of using a slur directed at disabled people in 2023 and making a mess of an easy smash volley by holding his racquet the opposite away during the Moselle Open final against Lorenzo Sonego in 2022.
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