Australia

Tomljanovic accuses Ostapenko of faking injury in fiery Wimbledon clash


Ajla Tomljanovic has made it into the last 16 of Wimbledon after a three-set win filled with controversy and bad blood against Jelena Ostapenko, the former French Open champion who the Australian accused of faking injury during their third round match.

The row then joined the pantheon of Wimbledon’s great bust-ups after the match as the pair traded more barbs and insults separately in the press conference room.

Ostapenko ended up calling Tomljanovic “the worst player on tour” because she was so “very, very disrespectful” while Tomljanovic slammed her opponent for her “disgraceful behaviour”.

Amid unprecedented scenes, Ostapenko — 4-0 down and being outplayed in the final set — insisted she must have a medical timeout for an abdominal injury which had not been apparent to anyone else on court.

The furious Tomljanovic protested, telling the chair umpire Fiona Edwards: “You know she’s lying, right … we all know”.

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Tomljanovic, who was about to serve next, demanded to see the supervisor, explaining that she had not had the same privilege of being allowed to leave the court in similar circumstances when playing a match at Birmingham recently.

The supervisor duly came to court and told the Australian that Ostapenko had been within her rights to get treatment at the changeover.

When the world number 34 Ostapenko was given dispensation to exit the court with the trainer for treatment, it left a stunned Tomljanovic to stew on her own on Court 15.

She was left complaining to Edwards that her Latvian opponent then seemed to take too long to get back to their outside court from the treatment room.

The clock at courtside timing down Ostapenko’s return mysteriously stopped, leaving the Australian to ask: “Why has the clock stopped?”.

When Ostapenko finally returned, she fought back to win the next game but the Australian number two reckoned she was proud to hold her nerve, eventually breaking the Latvian again for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory, arguably the biggest of her career.

Ajla Tomljanovic was furious at Jelena Ostapnko’s decision to call a medical time out after showing no previous signs of injury.(

AP: Alberto Pezzali

)

The furious row continued at the end of the match when Ostapenko waited at the net to shake hands but Tomljanovic, by now overjoyed by her win, lingered before grudgingly doing so.

The Latvian told Tomljanovic that she should talk to the trainer if she felt that she had been faking the injury.

She then claimed that the Australian had shown her “zero respect” with Tomljanovic responding icily: “You’re the one to talk.”

A female tennis player clenches her fist as she stares down the court after winning a point at Wimbledon.
Jelena Ostapenko called for a controversial medical timeout when trailing 4-0 in the final set against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.(

AP: Alberto Pezzali

)

The row overshadowed one of the best wins of world number 75 Tomljanovic’s career as she reached the last 16 of a grand slam for only the second time in her career, seven years after she first achieved the feat at the French Open.

“In my opinion it was very, very disrespectful from her side, because every single player who is playing tennis or any other sports can get injured,” said Ostapenko afterwards, adamant that she had been struggling with the injury from the second set.

“How can you say ‘liar’ or something if you know zero about — maybe I already had this injury before. Maybe it’s not new pain or something.

“You cannot say that. In front of everybody, call me liar? I don’t think it’s respectful from her side. So that’s what I said, the very bad player because of this behaviour. That’s it. You are winning, but it does not mean you can do everything you want.”

Her comments drew a withering response from Tomljanovic.

“She can say she was injured. I don’t think she was. There was nothing wrong with her the whole match, but then why on 4-0 she calls it?” said the Brisbane player.

“I have played many people. I know when someone is injured and when they’re not.

“Then to top it all off, for her to call me disrespectful at the end of the match is just laughable.

“I think it’s disgraceful behaviour from someone who’s a slam champion, because kids look at her and, what, they see that?

“I’m sorry, if she was injured, she could have gone about it in a way better way.

“My feelings towards winning exceeds any drama that happened, because for me it’s a huge moment in my career.”

A British tennis player leaps off the ground after winning a key point in her match at Wimbledon.
Tomljanovic wil next face hometown heroine Emma Raducanu, after the Briton beat Sorana Cirstea to reach the last 16.(

AP: Alberto Pezzali

)

On “Manic Monday” when all the last-16 players will compete, Tomljanovic will next meet British wildcard Emma Raducanu, whose dream debut run continued with a win over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.

The 18-year-old British wildcard, who’s ranked 338th in the world impressed in a 6-3, 7-5 win on her show court debut and will have huge support from her home fans.

AAP



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