Wimbledon: Ajla Tomljanovic accuses Jelena Ostapenko of 'lying' about injury
- Published
Watch: Ostapenko and Tomljanovic in heated exchange
Wimbledon 2021 on the BBC |
|---|
Venue: All England Club Dates: 28 June-11 July |
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full details here |
Ajla Tomljanovic and Jelena Ostapenko traded insults in front of the umpire at the end of their third-round match.
Ostapenko called for a medical timeout at 4-0 down in the final set but Tomljanovic, who won 4-6 6-4 6-2, said she "knew she wasn't injured".
"There was nothing wrong with her the whole match, so why did she call it then?" said the Australian, who plays Britain's Emma Raducanu on Monday.
In reply, Latvia's Ostapenko accused her of being "very disrespectful".
Tomljanovic was preparing to serve for a 5-0 lead in the deciding set when Ostapenko asked for a medical timeout.
The request prompted a furious response from her opponent, who told the umpire Ostapenko was "lying" about being injured.
"I have been in situations where players use that medical timeout to get their opponent off, usually when they are losing badly," said Tomljanovic afterwards.
"I know when someone is injured and when someone is not.
"She can say she was injured - I don't think she was."
Ostapenko was unimpressed and called Tomljanovic "disrespectful" six times at her news conference.
"She cannot say anything because she knows zero about my injury," the 2017 French Open champion said.
"I thought it was very, very disrespectful from her side, because every single player who is playing tennis or any other sports can get injured."
Ostapenko had played well to take the first set but was off colour in the second and two breaks of serve down in the third set when she asked for the timeout.
"I had a problem with my abdominal already in the second set. I pulled it, and I couldn't really serve well because I had pain when I was serving," Ostapenko said.
"My level today was not good after the first set because if I played at at least 50%, I would have beaten her."
Gaming can improve your mental health: Here are five titles to help you escape
Grounded with Louis Theroux: Why isn't Frankie Boyle a fan of Ricky Gervais?
