NEW YORK -- Michal Tabara of the Czech Republic was fined $1,000 by the International Tennis Federation on Thursday for unsportsmanlike conduct following his first round match at the U.S. Open.

Tennis etiquette disappeared at the U.S. Open on Wednesday with an ugly post-match confrontation between American Justin Gimelstob and Tabara, 22.

As Tabara approached the net following a five-set loss to Gimelstob and spat in the direction of his opponent.

Gimelstob twice took injury timeouts in the grueling five-setter, one for a jammed toe, another for a strained hamstring. After surviving with an emotional 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-2 victory, he pumped his fists at the crowd, excited over the victory.

Tabara, angered by the timeouts and Gimelstob's match-ending celebration, reacted by spitting as they came to the net to shake hands.

"I didn't see it or I would have been on the other side of the net," Gimelstob said of the spitting episode.

Slowly, the American's anger grew.

"He spit at me?" Gimselstob said, sounding astonished. "Pretty unprofessional. He'd better not be in the locker room when I get back. Unless he grows about another foot by the time I get back in the locker room, he's in trouble.

"I guarantee the next time I see him, I'll take it up with him."

Gimelstob said the injury timeouts were legitimate.

"I did what I had to do," he said. "I was taking injury timeouts because I was injured. I wasn't trying to stretch the rules."

And as for his exuberance, Gimelstob said that was justified.

"Maybe the Czechs need to have a little more personality out there," he said. "I was excited. I've been through a lot. I was excited that I played a good fifth set, that I overcame the injuries and toughed it out. If he has a problem with that, if he thinks spitting at me is appropriate, I think we just grew up in a little different culture."

Tabara made no excuses, saying that he did spit at Gimelstob, even if the American was unaware of it.

"He take injury time because he cannot breathe and cannot move," Tabara said. "Every second changing, injury time. I never seen before. I think he wasn't fit."

So he chose to spit and then he added an expletive, in his native language.

"He can go to Hollywood and he can make some movie," Tabara said. "I don't know what to say so I just said in Czech language, `You have to go to Hollywood.' Nothing else."

There was no answer from Gimelstob.

"He don't understand Czech," Tabara explained.