NEW YORK—U.S. Open patrons have long extolled the “old” Grandstand for its intimate environment. Fans seated courtside can see and hear some of the world’s best players from a perspective that would seem off-limits to mere grounds-pass holders.

That’s not always a good thing.

Take Bernard Tomic, the caustic and talented Aussie whose first-round match was on the Grandstand, which is set for demolition after this year’s tournament. At least one person and Tomic didn’t see eye to eye—figuratively speaking, since they were within earshot of each other. According to this video and Twitter user @tennisguru100, the 23-year-old told the fan, among other things, that “I will give you some money to make you feel good.”

You can listen to the entire awkward exchange here:

Advertising

Chair umpire Cedric Mourier reprimanded Tomic during an ensuing changeover, not necessarily for his language, but for “trying to solve it by yourself."

Tomic explained it as someone “saying some sh*t to me”:

Advertising

After Tomic's 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (0) loss to Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, he apologized for his comments. but said that he had problems with unruly crowd behavior during the match.

"I think he was just baiting me a bit," Tomic said. "You know, I don't want to get into it. I apologized for what I said to him. I think after he left [after] the first set, I think the crowd got happy he left ... I just saw he left and the crowd clapped a bit."

Tomic said he did not know if the spectator had been told to leave.

The spectator's remarks were not heard on camera.

Tomic added that he received comments from spectators on the other side of the court, as well.

"It's just, they were saying some negative stuff to me, in my language of Serbian-Croatian," the world No. 19 said. "The microphones didn't pick that up."

Fellow Australian Nick Kyrgios, who defeated Aljaz Bedene in the first round, said he also received some comments, though they were milder. He did not respond, though he did complain repeatedly about the officials.

"Some guy was like, 'Change your clothes,'" said Kyrgios. "I was trying to come up with a comeback. I didn't want to say anything. He was an old man."

Tomic called for more discipline in the stands, saying he also saw some issues during the match between Janko Tipsarevic and Sam Querrey, and indicated that he was bothered by the spectator's comments.

"He was, for sure, in the moment saying a lot of stuff to me," he said. "But it's OK. It's just, sometimes the crowd need to be respectful, especially at a big major. I saw it in the Tipsarevic match, too. The crowd [gets] too into it, too against an opponent, too on one person's side. It creates energy. The crowd really [gets] into the match. It sometimes can cause problems.

"I think, you know, we're in a sport where it's so respected ... I think we respect one another, and the crowd."

Tomic said he did not have any problems with officials during the first-round loss.