October 4, 2007: The day Austrian Stefan Koubek was disqualified for a third time

What happened exactly on that day?

On this day, October 4, 2007, Stefan Koubek, from Austria, was disqualified from the Metz Open. The left-hander, known for his ill-temper, lost his cool after a disagreement with the umpire, despite the fact that he was leading 4-2 in the deciding set of his round of 16 clash against Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean.

The players involved: Stefan Koubek and Sebastien Grosjean

• Stefan Koubek: The former world No 20 from Austria with 2 ATP titles under his belt

Stefan Koubek, a left-hander with a two-handed backhand, was born in Austria in 1977. He broke into the top 100 at the end of 1998, claiming his first title in 1999, in Atlanta (defeating Sebastien Grosjean in the final, 6-2, 6-1). That year, he also reached the fourth round at Roland-Garros (defeated by Alex Corretja, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5) and finished the season as world No 46. In 2000, he won a second title, in Delray Beach (beating Alex Calatrava, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4) and reached his career-high ranking of world No 20 on March, 13.

In 2001, Koubek almost dropped out of the top 100, but in 2002, he obtained his best Grand Slam result at the Australian Open, where he reached the quarter-finals (defeated by Jiri Novak, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2). Koubek was known for his bad temper, as he had already been defaulted twice in his career – once at Roland-Garros in 2000, and once at Paris-Bercy in 2003. In October 2007, he was ranked No 60 in the world.

• Sebastien Grosjean: Top 10 player, twice a Grand Slam semi-finalist

Sebastien Grosjean, from France, was born in 1978. Although he was one of the best junior players in his country, he was left out of the French Federation elite program in 1994 at the age of 16, because he was considered too short to be a professional player. However, Grosjean didn’t give up on his dream and five years later, he made a name for himself by reaching the final of the 1999 Miami Masters 1000 (defeated by Richard Krajicek, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5). His peak came in 2001: that year, after reaching the semi-finals at both the Australian Open and Roland-Garros, he claimed his most important title at Paris-Bercy, before finishing runner-up at the Masters Cup and ending the season as world No 6. In the following years, the Frenchman remained a solid top 20 player, reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2003 and 2004. In October 2007, he held the 68^th position in the ATP rankings.

The place: The Metz Open in France

The Metz Open was established in 2003. Held on indoor hard courts, its first two editions had been won by local favourites Arnaud Clement and Jerome Haehnel, but in the following years, its growing popularity attracted top players such as Ivan Ljubicic, who triumphed in 2005, and Novak Djokovic, who won the title in 2006.

The facts: Koubek defaulted for abusing a supervisor

When Sebastien Grosjean faced Stefan Koubek in the round of 16 at the 2007 Metz Open, no one could have predicted that their match was going to end amidst such unexpected drama. Both players were in the latter stages of their career: Grosjean, a former world No 4, was now ranked No 68, while Koubek, world No 20 in 2000, held the 60^th ranking on the ATP list. They were both experienced players and the stakes were not particularly high. However, the Austrian left-hander was known for his bad temper. He had achieved the rare feat of being disqualified twice in his career, both times in Paris – the first time at Roland-Garros in 2000, for hurling his racquet at a ball boy, and the second time at Paris-Bercy, during the qualifying rounds. 

At first, the Frenchman took the lead, taking the first set (7-5) and breaking his opponent’s serve in the second set. However, the Austrian clawed his way back and pushed Grosjean into a third set. Koubek seemed to have a decisive hold on the match against a tired opponent, and he was up 4-2 when things got out of control. Unhappy about an overrule, the Austrian lost his nerves and was defaulted for abusing the supervisor.

“On the first point of the seventh game, on Grosjean’s serve, a Koubek forehand close to the baseline gave a 0-15 advantage to Koubek,” the supervisor, Thomas Karlberg, explained. “But the umpire realised Grosjean was in the way of the line judge, who was therefore unable to judge the point. In this case, the rule is to replay the point. Koubek disagreed and asked for the supervisor’s intervention. He did not want to accept the rules and used strong language. I told him the match was over and asked the umpire to announce it.”

Koubek lost the plot. He went completely crazy.

Sebastien Grosjean

On the other side of the net, Grosjean couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Koubek lost the plot. He went completely crazy. It was incredible because he was leading 4-2 in the third set and it was the first point of the game. The linesman and the referee couldn’t see Koubek’s ball. It was 30 cm outside. So, the point had to be replayed. Koubek didn’t want it that way. He wanted to see the supervisor. After a while, I went to see Koubek and asked him to come back on court so that we could resume the match and replay the point. He refused and started to insult the supervisor. The rules were applied and he was immediately disqualified.”

What next: Grosjean loses in next round; Koubek slides into retirement

In the following round, there would be no miraculous escape for Sebastien Grosjean, who would be defeated by the eventual champion, Tommy Robredo (6-4, 6-4). Stefan Koubek would retire in 2010.

History of disqualifications on the men’s tour till 2022

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