(VIDEO) "This is complete bull****" - From cramps to three-game penalty: Max Houkes on end of brutal punishment after drama in Roland Garros qualifying

Qualifying for Grand Slam tournaments are a high-pressured and precarious situation for many tennis players. It can make or break careers and possibly be the start of a flourishing tennis career. However, things can go wrong on the big stage as Max Houkes found out. Sportingly helped by his opponent, Marco Cecchinato, after suffering from cramp, he was then left red-faced after the umpire heavily penalised him for not taking a medical timeout.

The second Grand Slam of the year is soon upon us, and this week at Roland Garros is completely dominated by qualifying. Three rounds will split the strong from the weak with just 16 players being able to come through to compete in either the ATP or WTA main draw respectively.

Cecchinato, a former Roland Garros semi-finalist, had not competed in a major tournament since losing in the first round of the US Open back in 2023. He is aiming to get back into the big time, and was pitched against the world number 234 Houkes.

It is fair to say that this matchup did not go the way of Houkes. It could have gone differently in the first set after he broke the serve, but Cecchinato immediately responded in fine fashion. The first set went to a tiebreak with Cecchinato mustering up a huge smash to seal the first set.

However, all attention turned to the other side of the court. Houkes was struggling on the floor in a lot of pain amid torturous cramping. This is common at this level of the sport, but it seemed he was really not coping well.

In a moment of pure sportsmanship, Cecchinato opted not to sit back down in his chair and reset for the second set, deciding to go to the other side of the court and see if he could defuse the situation. He asked what the issue was before stretching the cramping leg, easing the pain. Houkes was then helped by tournament officials who guided him back to his seating area.

The 25-year-old's misery was not done there. The umpire did not sympathise with this sudden halt in action, penalising Houkes three games for not taking a medical timeout as he recovered from the situation.

”Mr Houkes will concede three games and then he can receive 60 seconds of treatment, for the cramping situation," he announced. A tournament official was overhead saying to Houkes: ”I told you, you have to keep on playing straight up."

There was a disagreement between the pair, with Houkes angrily stating: ”This is complete bull****.” He began the second set 3-0 down and was never able to recover. This double-break disadvantage was almost halved instantly with Houkes failing to take three break points straight off the bat. Another two in what would be the final game of the match came and went with Cecchinato converting his fourth match point. He will take on the world number 198 Stefanos Sakellaridis in the second round of qualifying, with Houkes long awaited main draw Grand Slam debut still in the works.