'Go drink some beer': Fabio Fognini spits towards linesman and mocks fan

Italian tennis maverick Fabio Fognini has continued his antics at the Shanghai Masters after appearing to spit in the direction of a linesman and mocking a fan.

Earlier in the week, a fuming Andy Murray accused Fabio Fognini of shouting during a critical point as the Briton went down fighting in three bitter sets at the Shanghai Masters.

But the fiery Italian continued his bad-boy antics during his victory over Karen Kachanov when he spat in the direction of a linesman - after a foot fault - and mocked a fan.

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The first incident came when Fognini was called for a foot fault at 30-30 in the section set.

After losing the second serve with a badly timed forehand, Fognini appeared to spit in the direction of the lineswoman.

The umpire handed the Italian a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Later in the set, Fognini got into a row with a fan after reportedly telling a spectator to “Go drink some beer”.

The Italian then pointed to his temple and to the fan as he held Kachanov’s serve up.

Fognini won the match 6-3, 7-5 and advanced to the quarter-final, but fans were less than impressed with his actions.

Murray snaps at Fognini

The two players confronted one another in a lengthy exchange by the net near the end of a bad-tempered match that stretched past three hours, with Murray telling Fognini to "shut up".

But Murray, 32, on the comeback from career-saving hip surgery in January, said: "Someone made a noise, I didn't know who made the noise, I looked in the direction of where the noise came from.”

"He then told me, 'Stop looking at me, what are you looking at me for?'

"I was like, 'I was just about to hit a shot and someone made a noise'. He then told me to stop looking at him," Murray added.

"The sound came from him, which you're not allowed to do, it's against the rules, it's hindrance, you shouldn't do it."