World No.6 Aussie Open star loses it over her opponent’s yelling and fist-pumping in fiery outburst: ‘If she screams one more time in my face I’m going to call the referee’
- Maria Sakkari incensed by Diana Shnaider’s theatrics during match
- Sakkari tells umpire she’s going to call referee if yelling continues
- Greek World No.6 won the hard-fought contest after shaky start
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World No.6 Maria Sakkari was left fuming by her opponents screaming and fist-pumps during her Australian Open match, losing her temper completely with the histrionics in the second round.
Sakkari, 27, found herself in deep trouble against 18-year-old Russian college student Diana Shnaider on Wednesday at Margaret Court Arena.
Maria Sakkari lost her temper completely on Wednesday when her opponent’s fist-pumping and screaming after winning points got to her
Sakkari, 27, found herself in deep trouble against 18-year-old Russian college student Diana Shnaider (pictured) at Margaret Court Arena
The unseeded youngster took the first set against the US Open semifinalist 3-6, before Sakkari came back to win, taking the final sets 7-5, 6-3.
The hard-fought contest lasted more than two and half hours, and when Shnaider levelled the second set at 5-5 and let out a wild scream, Sakkari lost her temper and approached the chair umpire.
‘If she screams one more time in my face, I’m going to call the referee,’ she warned umpire Christian Rask.
After the match, Sakkari had praise for her spirited opponent.
‘I think that she played an amazing match. You know, she’s very young, she’s very promising,’ Sakkari said.
‘Maybe she should consider not going to college, playing pro.’
After the match, Sakkari (pictured) had praise for her spirited opponent
‘It’s not easy to play someone that you’ve never played before or seen before on the tour.
‘I was a little bit hesitant. She was swinging very hard, she was playing very aggressive.
‘I know that I should have been more aggressive because I was very far back from the baseline running and defending every single ball, which is not my game.
‘I tried to find ways and that’s what I think I’m good at. I think I’m good at trying to find solutions and trying to improve my game during the match.’
The Greek has now reached the Australian Open third round for the fifth time and will next play either Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann or China’s Lin Zhu.
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