Top tennis meltdowns

Mikhail Youzhny often takes it out on himself after a bad call on the tennis court.

Nick Kyrgios has been knocked out of Wimbledon and audiences can take a break from seeing the young Aussie lose his mind on court.

His talent will struggle to flourish while his temper continues to control him but the 20 year old isn't the first tennis star prone to flashes of uncontrollable rage. The Herald looks at five other tennis meltdowns.

1. Mikhail Youzhny splits his own head open

Youzhny was ranked eighth in the world back in 2008 but in the same year, he had a moment of madness in Miami. After losing a crucial point to Nicolas Almagro in the Sony Ericsson Open, Youzhny repeatedly smacked himself in the head. His assault drew blood that streamed down his face.

2. Marcos Baghdatis smashes four racquets

The Cypriot was on course for a defeat to Stanislas Wawrinka in the 2012 Australian Open. A tennis player smashing his own racquet is a somewhat of a cliche but Baghdatis exceeded expectation by smashing four in quick succession.

3. Serena Williams threatens to kill line judge
Serena was struggling at the 2009 US Open against Kim Clijsters and she was growing more and more frustrated. She was called for a foot fault and she went mad; venting her anger directly at the petrified line judge who wandered over to match officials and said she'd been violently threatened by Williams. "I will freaking kill you" was what she said accused of saying. She was disqualified and fined $82,500. She was not happy.

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4. David Nalbandian's wild kick injures line judge

It was the Queen's final in 2012 and it ended in disgrace after a moment of madness from the Argentine. After losing a point, he kicked out and connected with an advertising board with a line judge's shin just inches away. He was disqualified and Marin Cilic won the title by defeat. The poor line judge was left in agony and with a badly gashed shin.

5. John McEnroe
"You cannot be serious" is one of the most instantly recognisable sayings in sport and featured in adverts across the world. It comes from the legendary American tennis player McEnroe who was famous for his eruptions on the tennis court during the 1980s.