Reilly Opelka hits out at 'bush league' umpire Greg Allensworth after heckler penalty - 'I can't be a punching bag'

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Reilly Opelka overcame a code violation and a heckling fan to beat Cameron Norrie at the Dallas Open. Opelka was incensed when he was penalised for responding to a fan who appeared to be distracting him. He hit out afterwards at the heckler and umpire Greg Allensworth, and also defended his response on court by saying he "can’t just be a punching bag".

Reilly Opelka

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Reilly Opelka launched into stinging criticism of chair umpire Greg Allensworth for penalising him following a confrontation with an "idiot" heckling fan who was "hiding behind a pole".

The incident occurred with Opelka serving for the match against Cameron Norrie in the third set of their last-16 clash at the ATP 500 Dallas Open.

At 30-30 in the game, Opelka went to serve but caught the ball toss as he was put off by a noise from the stands.

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Opelka turned, stared, and confronted the heckler, saying: "Are you doing it on f*****g purpose or what?! Go the f*** inside, buddy."

Umpire Allensworth announced a code violation against Opelka for an "audible obscenity", much to the frustration of the American, who walked to the umpire’s chair to plead his case.

The point penalty meant it was 30-40, but it did not ultimately cost Opelka as he fended off break point - and then saved two more - before closing out the win.

However, Opelka did not hold back afterwards in his criticism of Allensworth’s "bush league" response to the heckler.

"He gets no penalty, if I lose that point, I lose that match, there’s a difference in my pay cheque. He gets no repercussions.

"That was bush league, that wasn’t a line call issue… I don’t get how you can be so bad. We were all talking about him, we know it’s amateur hour when he is on court.

"He [the heckler] was coughing, I looked over and he kept coughing, and he was hiding behind a pole, and I was like ‘dude, I see you’. The guy got kicked out and I got penalised. It makes no sense.

"The guy [the heckler] is just an idiot, the ref is real bad, that’s all there is to it. You can’t make those calls at an ATP 500. You have to understand the situation, there should be a common sense rule."

It is not the first time Allensworth has been involved in an incident with a player confronting a spectator.

Allensworth defaulted Denis Shapovalov from the Citi Open in Washington DC last summer after he appeared to swear at a fan.

"Greg Allensworth is the worst ref in the ATP," added Opelka. "We were talking about him in the locker room, all the players, it really is a coincidence about two days ago [we were talking about the worst umpire on the tour and he] is the worst one...

"Allensworth is real bad, he almost changed the outcome of that match, just because he doesn’t really know what he is doing.

"He got emotional, he got very tense and frantic and he couldn’t give me an answer. He didn’t tell that guy to shut up. He [the heckler] was doing it for three points, he didn’t do his job so I had to tell him ‘get out of here’. The guy was being quite rude.

"I am all for whatever, but if you want to come here to be an a**hole then I am going to be one back.

"It shouldn’t be one-sided traffic - if you want to be disrespectful to me, I can’t just be a punching bag and if the ref isn’t doing his job and he penalises me it is not a good look.

"It almost changed the outcome of the match, big point, he didn’t do his job and then penalised me for it so he did two things wrong. I hope the ATP penalise him, maybe sideline him for a few tournaments."

Opelka faces fellow American Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals of the Dallas Open.

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