Reuters
Tennis – WTA 500 – Saint Petersburg Ladies Trophy – Sibur Arena, Saint Petersburg, Russia – February 12, 2022 Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko reacts during her semi final match against Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit REUTERS/Anton Vaganov
Reuters
Tennis – WTA 500 – Saint Petersburg Ladies Trophy – Sibur Arena, Saint Petersburg, Russia – February 12, 2022 Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko reacts during her semi final match against Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit REUTERS/Anton Vaganov
Jelena Ostapenko has had a mixed start to the 2022 season. The former French Open champion began her season at the Sydney Tennis Classic. However, she lost in the opening round to Paula Badosa of Spain. Further, at the Australian Open, she could not proceed beyond the third round, losing to the fourth seed Barbora Krejcikova.
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However, she managed a semifinals finish at her next tournament, the St. Petersburg Open. She is currently playing at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and is into the quarterfinals after a big win over Poland’s Iga Swiatek. But the Latvian wasn’t happy with a particular incident during her match against the 20-year-old and has opened up about the same.
Jelena Ostapenko felt angry after Iga Swiatek’s fans clapped at her double-faults
After the match, the 24-year-old made her displeasure known. She was asked about the atmosphere and what she made of the fans.
Jelena replied, “I think it’s really nice, the fans there. The Polish people were a little bit not too nice because, like, clapping for double-faults. I don’t think it’s the right way. It’s not a football match, it’s a tennis match at the end.”
Further, she added, “When she (Iga Swiatek) was making double-faults, nobody was clapping because people know how to behave. Some of them, of course, they were behaving not the way they should.”
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Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – July 3, 2021 Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko reacts during her third round match against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic REUTERS/Paul Childs
The interviewer further asked Jelena if that kind of treatment from a crowd fuels her to perform better. The former World No. 5 said, “Yeah, of course. I really wanted to win. I mean, but in general I think fans should not behave on a tennis court the same as they’re behaving on a soccer match.”
Shots fired by Jelena Ostapenko after her win over Swiatek:
"The Polish people were a bit not too nice, like, clapping for double-faults. I don't think it's the right way. It's not a football match, it's a tennis match at the end."
"It only made me more angry & hungry to win." pic.twitter.com/rIWrCriJOb
— Musab (@Musab_Abid) February 16, 2022
Jelena Ostapenko will face Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Her match is currently underway, and she has lost the opening set 7-5 and won the second set with the same scoreline.
What do you make of her comments about the fans at the match? Let us know in the comments below.
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