FRENCH VETERAN Adrian Mannarino found out he had made the US Open Last 16 for the first time when he emerged from the TOILET!
Mannarino, 37, progressed from the third round when American Ben Shelton retired hurt with a left shoulder injury.
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Shelton, 22, damaged the area when he hit a forehand shot in game two of the fourth set at the Louis Armstrong Stadium on Friday afternoon in New York.
The No.6 seed, who was leading 2-1 in sets, took a three-minute medical timeout, had a massage from the trainer and popped a painkiller before deciding to continue.
In the end, he bravely battled on for 45 more minutes before deciding, after Mannarino had converted a sixth set point to take the encounter into a fifth-set decider, that it was time to quit.
His dad Bryan, a former professional player, could be seen telling his son that it was not worth it and to think of the potential long-term damage.
After Mannarino won the fourth set, he left the arena for a comfort break and when he returned a few minutes later, he discovered the match was over and he was shaking hands with Shelton.
Though he knew his opponent was in pain and discomfort, he was still surprised that it would not be concluded on the court.
Georgia-born, Florida-based Shelton – who is dating footballer Trinity Rodman – sat on his chair and started to sob and then left the venue with a towel over his head.
Mannarino, the world no.77, now plays Czech No20 seed Jiri Lehecka on Sunday with the winner likely to face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals next week.
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Mannarino laughed: “I’m 37-years-old, it’s my first time winning a match from the toilet!
“Always new things coming up. I am still enjoying my time on court. I hope I am going to extend it for a little while.
“Of course, when he started to have pain he was leading in the match. Honestly he would have probably won that match.
“That’s unfortunate for me and very lucky for me. Yeah, I don’t really know what to say. Of course, I’m happy to get through. I wish him all the best.
“I was having good fun on the court, some really long rallies. I won some of them. I lost some of them. It was a pretty cool match to play.
“Ben is playing really well. He kicked my a** in the beginning of the summer. He’s such an amazing player. It was a great match.
“Even when I was losing, it was a pretty cool match. Thanks to all you guys for being nice with me.”
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