"Rarely seen such lack of sportsmanship": Fans stunned by Roberto Carballes Baena hitting Alexander Bublik with body serves in Madrid Open loss

Roberto Carballes Baena cut a frustrated figure towards the end of his second-round loss to 17th seed Alexander Bublik at the Madrid Open and attempted to hit the Kazakh twice with his serve.

The Spaniard's actions were criticized by several fans on social media, while others saw the funny side owing to Bublik's hilarious response.

Carballes Baena started the match brilliantly as he stormed to a 6-1 win in the first set. However, the Spaniard inexplicably lost his way in the second set, while Bublik upped his game to clinch it 6-2 and force the match into a decider.

In the third set, the Kazakh maintained his momentum and took a 5-1 lead, all but ending Carballes Baena's hopes of progress. A major flashpoint in the match came during the seventh game of the third set after Bublik won a point by hitting an audacious tweener. Carballes Baena attempted to return the tweener with a backhand slice, but it landed out.

Unable to contain his frustration, the Spaniard hit a serve directly at Bublik, which resulted in a fault. Shockingly, instead of attempting to hit a decent second serve, Carballes Baena attempted to hit the Kazakh again, registering a double fault to hand yet another point to Bublik.

Ultimately, it was the Kazakh who progressed to the next round of the Madrid Open after winning the third set 6-2.

One set of fans was angered by Carballes Baena's clear attempts to hit Bublik.

"OMG… wow… that’s awful, have rarely seen such lack of sportsmanship," one fan wrote.

"The frustration of considering yourself a “clay specialist” losing (after winning the first set being local) to a guy that hates the surface and play effortless most of the time on it, and then losing a point in that way, lol terrible from Carballes Baena tbh," commented another fan.

"What a baby. He deserved to lose," another fan chimed in.

"It’s not illegal. Just a terrible look," wrote a prominent tennis journalist.

Another set of fans found the incident funny, particularly due to Bublik's hilarious response.

"Bublik circled the ball mark after the double fault lolololol," one fan wrote.

"The way Bublik marked where the 2nd serve landed is hilarious," another fan commented.

"Bublik beat him while not even trying," another fan wrote.

Alexander Bublik to face Ben Shelton next at the Madrid Open

Alexander Bublik in action at the 2024 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters

Bublik's come-from-behind victory against Carballes Baena at the Madrid Open helped him set up a third-round encounter against Ben Shelton.

Bublik and Shelton have met only once previously on the ATP Tour. That meeting came in the Round of 64 at last year's Italian Open. The Kazakh emerged triumphant on that occasion after he downed the American 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.

Shelton, the No. 14 seed at the Madrid Open, received a first-round bye and started his campaign in the second round, where he comfortably dispatched Tomas Machac 6-0, 6-2.