MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) - Russia's Mikhail Youzhny has become an unlikely star on the YouTube Web site after he battered his head with a tennis racket at the Sony Ericsson Open.


A video shot by the host broadcaster Fox Sports Network (FSN) showed Youzhny violently whacking his head three times in a row, sending blood streaming down his forehead and nose.

The world number 11 was 5-4 down against Nicolas Almagro of Spain in the final set of his third round match on Monday when his frustrations spilled over after he lost a lengthy rally.

The clip had received over 700,000 hits on the Web site by Wednesday.

Youzhny did not let a little blood get in the way of the match, which he won 7-6 3-6 7-6.

The Russian lost his fourth round match to Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 3-6 6-0 6-3 on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Sandra Harwitt, Editing by Padraic Halpin)
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