David Ferrer shoves line judge

David Ferrer struggled in the quaterfinals against Tomas Berdych. (WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Is David Ferrer prime for a fine?

A frustrated and dejected Ferrer, en route to a 6-1, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, shoved a line judge so he could put his towel down after wiping off in between points. Under the rules, the No. 3 seed could face a fine of up to $20,000.

"It was nothing," Ferrer said after the match. "I have the towel there. It was nervous moment, but nothing. I said to him excuse me after that. Nothing special."

Here's a GIF of the shove.

The Grand Slam rulebook prohibits players from physically abusing officials, and it defines "physical abuse" as "the unauthorized touching" of an official. I don't know, that sure looks like unauthorized touching to me.

And it's not the first time he's done it: