"Destroying the game": Slovakian veteran player cites fans bizarrely discussing betting for losing Madrid Challenger semifinal

Slovakian veteran Norbert Gombos expressed his disappointment after being distracted by a group of spectators who were betting at the Madrid Challenger. The 34-year-old suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the semifinal of the Madrid Challenger on Saturday to Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak of the competition with a score of 7-6(2) 3-6 7-6(1).

During the match, Gombos had an edge in the third set as he was serving for the match. An interesting incident happened when the player’s coach complained to the match official that his player was distracted by a group of spectators, citing betting activity behind him. "You need to say something! Did you hear them booing before the serve?" Gombos' coach said to the match official.

His plea, however, went unnoticed as the player went on to lose the match in the tie break. The former world number 80 was furious with what happened on the court as he was quoted in the report as saying: "Are you happy? Destroying the game! You booed throughout the match and disrupted the game. I don't care about betting!,” he said.

Majchrzak went on to clinch the title as well as he defeated one-time Grand Slam winner and former world number three Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the final with a score of 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.