Tomljanovic doubles down after bitter spat
Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon for the first time overnight, defeating Jelena Ostapenko in three sets in a bitter clash that finished with a heated exchange.
Trailing a set and a break, the Australian staged a dramatic comeback to deny the former French Open champion to book herself a fourth-round appearance at a grand slam for the first time since Roland-Garros in 2014.
But the match was marred by an incident in the deciding third, Ostapenko calling for a medical timeout after Tomljanovic had roared into a 4-0 lead with the match seemingly heading for a predictable conclusion.
The 28-year-old Australian appeared to think the Latvian's ailment wasn't legitimate, and approached the umpire's chair to express her frustration.
“You know she’s lying, right? We all know,” Tomljanovic said, calling for the supervisor to protest further.
“You know you can also make your own call, and take your own view on this situation?
“Are you taking into any consideration that she looked fine for an hour and 30, and now there’s an acute injury?”
Ostapenko did eventually find her feet, and broke Tomljanovic’s serve upon her return from the timeout, but the Australian steadied herself to win eventually 4-6 6-4 6-2.
But the drama didn't end there, with the pair engaging in a terse farewell at the net before leaving the court.
“If you think I’m faking, you can talk to the physio,” Ostapenko said to Tomljanovic.
The Australian replied: “I hope you feel better,” to which Ostapenko retorted: “Your behaviour is terrible, terrible. You have zero respect.”
At that point, Tomljanovic fired up herself, saying: “You’re one to talk," and she didn't shy away from the incident in the post-match media room either.
"I've been in situations where players use that medical timeout to get their opponent off, usually when they're losing badly and when it's like the was getting close to the end," the Australian said.
"She [Ostapenko] 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?
"I think that's a clear reason that she just wanted to get me off my game. Usually if you are dealing with an injury – at least this is how I go about it – you maybe say, 'Hey can you call the physio on the next changeover'. You don't just go and sit down when your opponent is about to serve to go up 5-0 potentially.
"Game-wise, there was nothing wrong with her ... I have played her, I have played many people. I know when someone is injured and when they're not.
"Then to top it all, or her to call me disrespectful at the end of the match is just, at that point, it's laughable.
Tomljanovic finished by labelling Ostapenko's behaviour "disgraceful", particularly in light of her status as a grand slam champion.
No doubt a new bitter rivalry has now been sparked.
