TENNIS star Hubert Hurkacz received his prize money for winning the Estoril Open in a peculiar way.
The Pole defeated Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-4 to claim his first clay-court victory in Portugal.
GettyHubert Hurkacz won the Estoril Open on Sunday[/caption]
https://twitter.com/josemorgadoBut his prize money was awarded in a strange way[/caption]
https://twitter.com/josemorgadoRather than a cheque he was handed the money via a touch screen device[/caption]
https://twitter.com/josemorgadoHurkacz picked up more than £75,000 for his win[/caption]
https://twitter.com/josemorgadoHe gestured to the crowd to indicate it was completed afterwards[/caption]
This year the winner of the tournament picked up a cool €88,125 or £75,494.
However, while tennis winners are typically seen picking up their prize money via a large cheque presented to them after the final, Hurkacz was handed his in the form of a bank transfer on a screen.
Following the final, a tournament official was seen standing at the touch screen machine and showing Hurkacz how much he had won before pressing a button to confirm the transaction.
The smiling 27-year-old then turned around to the crowd and put his thumb in the air before saying: “It’s done”, prompting applause.
Reacting to the strange use of the machine, one fan said: “First time I see this type of thing, hope it’s the last time.”
A second said: “How weird.”
Another said: “They found a way to make giving them the money publicly even more awkward.”
A fourth added: “Bank account watching in the ceremony is crazy.”
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One fan watching from home could not help but feel that the machine was eerily familiar and believed it looked like a McDonald’s ordering machine.
They asked: “Can I order my McDonald’s meal on that thing?”
After his winning display, Hurkacz said: “I’m so happy with my performance today.
“I’m proud that I found my serve and that definitely helped me a lot.
“Pedro is such a great competitor, an amazing battle last night.
“I needed to play really great tennis to compete with him and fortunately I did it.”
The win see him rise two spots to a joint career-best men’s singles No8 rank in the ATP Tour world rankings.
AlamyFans compared the machine to a McDonald’s ordering machine[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
