Border tennis star Sam Groth has lashed out at “keyboard warriors” after his Wimbledon dream was dashed in Roehampton.
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Gamblers and keyboard warriors who abuse players after they have just lost, are the absolute scum of the Earth!!
- Sam Groth on Twitter
The 29-year-old lost to Italian Simone Bolelli in heartbreaking fashion in the Wimbledon qualifier, going down 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 11-9.
With a world ranking of 187, the powerful right-hander needed to qualify to compete at Wimbledon, where he reached a career-best third round in 2015.
Instead, to compound the pain of defeat, he was confronted with abuse on social media.
“Gamblers and keyboard warriors who abuse players after they have just lost, are the absolute scum of the Earth!!,” he wrote on Twitter after the defeat.
After reaching a career-high ranking of 53 in 2015, when he won the Newcombe Medal, Groth has endured a horror run with injuries.
He earned an 11th-hour call-up to represent Australia at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games last year and has been a regular member of the Davis Cup team.