VIDEO: WTA Tennis Star Threatens Chair Umpire as 18-Year-Old Opponent Bullies Her On-Court in an Intense Australian Open Contest
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In a thrilling Australian Open matchup, the Greek tennis player, Maria Sakkari defeated the 18-year-old college student, Diana Shnaider, during the second-round fixtures in Melbourne Park. However, a controversial incident took place during the second set as the former world no. 3 player approached chair umpire Christian Rask to vent out her frustration caused by the opponent.
Sakkari was not impressed with her opponent’s celebration, who was spotted screaming after clinching some crucial points in the match. This enraged the Greek star later threatened to call the match referee if the Russian player persisted with her loud celebrations.
Maria Sakkari enraged by 18-year-old opponent at the Australian Open
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The Russian tennis player came back from 4-5 to level the scores during the second set in a thrilling match. Diana Shnaider celebrated it with a loud fist pump in her opponent’s direction. However, this was not the first time the 18-year-old Russian star celebrated in a loud manner. Throughout the match, she was seen celebrating her points with a loud scream, while directing it at Maria Sakkari.
However, the former world no. 3 wasn’t impressed with that as she took the matter with the chair umpire. The 27-year-old was smiling to herself in disbelief as she later vented her frustration by threatening to call the match referee. Sakkari said, while wagging her finger, “If she screams one more time in my face, I’m going to call the referee”.
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I had a teammate in college get a code violation (taunting) warning for this exact thing (a prolonged, vocal celebration directed at the opponent).
Don’t think I’ve ever seen it called at the pro level or if it’s even still a thing. Paging @vrcsports. pic.twitter.com/MvOtwaSHhc
— Blair Henley (@BlairHenley) January 18, 2023
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The tennis community also took note of the incident on social media. Notably, one of the journalists also commented on the same while talking about a similar past incident. Renowned tennis journalist Jose Morgado tweeted, “Maria Sakkari is not happy with Diana Shnaider’s fistpumps. “If she screams one more time to my face…” Diana just held from 0-40, saved 3 SPs. 5-5 in the 2nd set.”
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Despite all the drama, the Greek tennis star later made a comeback in the match and clinched a second-round victory against an up-and-coming talent. After some remarkable performances in the initial rounds of the tournament, Sakkari will now proceed to the next round match that will take place on Friday.
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Do you think Sakkari can make it all the way to the finals of the Grand Slam event? Let us know in the comments section.
Edited by:
Tony Thomas