I found the crowd so unsporting during the match between Thanasi Kokkinakis and Ernests Gulbis on Monday night that I could no longer watch.

I fail to understand how people think it is OK for sportsmanship to go out the window, simply because an Australian has taken the court.

And this in a country that prides itself on being great sports, and the land of the fair go.

Well, turn it up! Sections of the crowd the other night were applauding every fault and double fault by Gulbis.

As the match became more intense, they were banging on the enclosure boarding for every double fault he served.

While I saw the term “patriotic” used to describe the crowd in a news report, the label they have to wear is bad sport.

It was a good sign of Gulbis to resist the temptation to say something about it after the match was over but you can be sure that if he had, we would have been the first to label him the bad sport.

Yes it is the Australian Open, and yes we love the Aussies to win — but surely within the bounds of being sporting about it.

— TREVOR SIMPSON,

Albury