Jelena Ostapenko was furious at the referee during her quarter-final loss to Victoria Azarenka at the Brisbane International on Thursday, accusing him of being “blind” after a number of decisions she disagreed with.
Ostapenko's break point came after Azarenka led 5-4 in the third set.
The 2017 French Open champion thought the ball bounced at least twice on Azarenka's side, but the referee allowed play to continue, giving Azarenka the point and winning the match.
“You are blind. It is impossible to play when you are…” Ostapenko exclaimed, appearing to indicate that he thought the ball had bounced three times. “You make a lot of mistakes. I don't want you to be in my games again. You'll never be in my games. You'll never be in my games.” I don't want you in my game. You ruin my game…I'll never forget, never.”
It took Azarenka two and a half hours to finally defeat third-seeded Ostapenko 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in the first match at Pat Rafter Arena.
Azarenka took control from the start in the first set with a single break of serve, but as the match progressed Ostapenko began to find her range and naturally tied the score.
“With Jelena, sometimes you have to put your helmet on and try to stay there,” Azarenka said of Ostapenko after the match.
“She's a great player. We've seen it many times. She's a Grand Slam champion. She's proven time and time again that she can beat anyone… She's always so dangerous. I thought the quality of the tennis was amazing.”
The Brisbane tournament will be a prelude to the Australian Open, which the 34-year-old Azarenka won in 2012 and 2013.
Ostapenko looked relaxed on her serve in the third set, but Azarenka struggled to hold her serve.
However, when he was about to take the set to a tie-break at 5-6, the Latvian broke his serve and a poor service game handed Belarus the victory.
Azarenka will face top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.
— What is News.com.au?
