( CNN ) -- The breaking of plates may be a popular tradition practiced in his homeland , but Cypriot tennis player Marcos Baghdatis has just taken the pastime to a whole new level . Playing against Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday night , Baghdatis was down two sets and looking shaky in the third when he let loose with a spectacular outburst . Sitting in his chair at a changeover , Baghdatis destroys his racket by smashing it into the blue Margaret Court Arena surface seven times , before calmly handing it to the ball boy . He follows through by giving another racket the same treatment . But it does n't end there -- he repeats the process by demolishing two more rackets , not even bothering to unwrap them from their plastic first . The colorful tantrum seemed to briefly help ; he went on to take the third set , but finally lost to Wawrinka 7-6 ( 7-3 ) 6-4 5-7 6-1 . On Thursday Baghdatis was penalized with an $ 800 fine , a figure much smaller than the hundreds of thousands of hits his performance has attracted on YouTube . YouTube : Watch Baghdatis destroy rackets . The former Australian Open runner-up 's official Website recounts his defeat to Wawrinka , but fails to mention his 60-second , racket-smashing eruption . Baghdatis ' antics have drawn analysis from sporting commentators and fellow tennis players alike , including five-time Australian Open women 's champion Serena Williams . `` I 've never done that . That 's impressive , wow , '' she said in an interview on the Australian Open Website .
Baghdatis was down two sets when he let loose with a spectacular outburst . He destroys his racket by smashing it into the ground , then wrecks three more . Advertisement Continue Reading Below Advertisement