Tennis: Tempers flare on marathon day at ASB Classic

Benoit Paire of France enquires with the umpire in his victory at the ASB Classic. Photo / Getty

It was a marathon day at the ASB Classic on Wednesday, and tempers began to fray, with several outbursts on court on a sweltering afternoon.

Charismatic Frenchman Benoit Paire had an extended row with the umpire in his match, at one point telling the official "Can you just do your job" while Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez lost the plot in the first set of his match against Fabio Fognini, with an extended remonstration with the umpire over a line call.

He later received a code violation for swearing in Spanish.

Feliciano Lopez reacts to match umpire Ahmed Abdel-Azim's call during his singles match against Fabio Fognini. Photo / Photosport

Paire's outburst happened in the second set of a tight affair against Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro, though the fifth seed recovered to win 4-6 6-4 6-3 in almost two hours.

"It was nothing special, during the match it is like this sometimes," Paire told the Herald after the match. "I talk a lot with the chair umpires. I just talked with him a little bit but nothing special."

Benoit Paire of France enquires with the umpire in his victory at the ASB Classic. Photo / Getty

"It's part of the sport. It's normal, I know him, he knows me and sometimes I can be a little nervous on court.

"It was good for him to tell me to talk a bit lower, that's why I did and after we stopped talking I won the set."