Tennis star Bernard Tomic was sensationally kicked out of the crowd after returning to the RD Open to heckle a rival. The Australian was unhappy with his quarter-final defeat against Andres Andrade on Friday morning and made his feelings clear to the Ecuadorian during the final of the same tournament.

Tomic was beaten 6-2 6-2 by lucky loser Andrade and clearly remained bitter about his exit. The 31-year-old had beaten Nick Hardt and British player Jay Clarke to reach the last eight of the event in the Dominican Republic.

But his defeat by Andrade left him with some free time to watch the remainder of the tournament. Amusingly, Tomic was seen courtside during Andrade’s showdown with Bosnian player Damir Dzumhur.

Tomic wore sunglasses and a cap to disguise who he was. Eyewitnesses claim that he heckled Andrade throughout the match, attempting to put him off to try to ensure he did not win the title.

It is even claimed that he moved around the venue to ensure he was right behind Andrade. Reports suggest that the finalist told the tournament officials: “I want this guy to be taken out.”

Videos show Tomic being spoken to by a member of security. The tennis player is seen pleading his innocence before being ejected from the stadium. The chair umpire informed him that he would be spoken to again if he returned to watch the action.

Andrade had slated Tomic for his poor sportsmanship following his victory over the former World No 17 on Friday. “I may not be a great tennis player, but what I am not is a bad person and a bad loser,” said the 25-year-old.

The heckling incident is the latest in a string of bizarre episodes involving Tomic. In June, he retired mid-match after getting into an argument with his girlfriend, who was present in the stands to watch him play.

He seemed disinterested as he fell to a 6-1 first-set defeat and complained of illness. Tomic was then seen arguing with his girlfriend over when she had tested positive for COVID-19. He allegedly tested positive for the virus soon after.

Tomic was once one of the most highly-rated young players on the tour and reached No 17 in the ATP rankings in 2016. However, he has not been seen inside the top 100 since 2019 and is currently ranked 250th – having dropped as far down as No. 825 in 2022.