Tomljanovic
In the duel between Ajla Tomljanovic and Jelena Ostapenko at Wimbledon, not only did the balls fly over the net, they also fought a verbal duel.
In the third round of the lawn classic, the Australian Tomljanovic prevailed 4: 6, 6: 4 and 6: 2 against the former French Open winner. The harder blows, however, followed immediately afterwards. Because Ostapenko was not exactly a fair loser.
“You have zero respect,” the Latvian whispered to her opponent, then shook her head afterwards: “Your behavior is terrible, just terrible.”
Ostapenko alluded to the third set when the Australian was already 4-0 ahead before the Latvian went to the chair referee and asked for a physiotherapist. You have abdominal muscle problems. “I can't go on like this,” Ostapenko said.
Tomljanovic did not believe that and demanded a decision from the supervisor. “You know she's lying, don't you? We all know. Do you take into account that she has looked good so far?” The Australian said to the chair umpire.
The Latvian was then allowed to be treated outside the field. It had taken eleven minutes before she appeared on the court again. And still lost the third round 2: 6. Tomljanovic then described the behavior of her opponent as “shameful”. Especially as a Grand Slam winner, she has to appear differently, be a role model for children.
Ostapenko was also really charged after the game. “It's just disrespectful of her. Any athlete can suffer an injury. At some point the pain got bigger and I couldn't hit properly,” said the Latvian.
There will be no new duel for the time being. Ostapenko has to pack her bags. And Tomljanovic is up against British wildcard player Emma Raducanu.
