Dimitrov defaults Istanbul final with trio of epic racket smashes

Grigor Dimitrov entered Sunday's Istanbul final with a great chance to claim his first ATP title since 2014.

The tournament's No. 2 seed was going up against 90th-ranked Diego Schwartzman, who'd never before hoisted a trophy at the ATP level.

The first set and change went as expected, with Dimitrov jumping out to a 7-6 (5), 5-2 lead. When some cracks appeared in his armor, though, he promptly fell to pieces.

Dimitrov failed to close out the match while serving for it at 5-3, then lost the second set in a tiebreaker, and took out his considerable frustration on his racket.

In the deciding set, Dimitrov started to cramp up, Schwartzman started to take control, and another racket ate the red dirt.

Finally, serving to stay in the match at 0-5 in the third, Dimitrov decided he'd had enough.

Knowing he already had two code violations to his name, and that a third would mean disqualification, he casually strode over to his chair, took out another two rackets, and handed the championship to Schwartzman.

The remnants:

Dimitrov was contrite after the match, and acknowledged that his behavior was less than acceptable.

"I let my family down, I let my team down, I let my fans down with that kind of behavior," he said. "A little bit on the positive side, you still get a chance in tennis every week. It's all my fault, there's not much I can say."

It's likely not how Schwartzman imagined winning his first title, but he'll take it.