Cheering Zoff at the Australian Open
“If she yells in my face again, then…”
A cheer causes a lot of trouble and a threat at the women’s Australian Open. And two days earlier, a scream caused Zoff.
Published: 12 minutes ago
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The reason for the Zoff: The Russian Diana Masimovna Schneider celebrates after an important point against the Greek Maria Sakkari.
The second round duel at the Australian Open between the Greek Maria Sakkari (27, WTA 6) and the Russian Diana Masimovna Schneider (18, WTA 106) looks at first glance like a clear affair in favor of the experienced Sakkari.
But things turned out differently, Masimovna Schneider played good tennis and won the first set 6:3. When the Russian then fended off three set balls in the second set, equalized 5:5 and let out a loud cheer with a clenched fist, her opponent’s collar burst.
Did cheers untie the knot?
Sakkari runs towards her opponent with a raised finger and threatens the nine-year-old: “If she yells in my face again, I’ll go to the referee”. The referee seems unimpressed by the gesture and lets the game continue.
But the cheering seems to have roused the favored Sakkari: She wins the second set 7:5, also wins the deciding set 6:3 and advances to the third round. There she now meets the Chinese Zhu Lin, who knocked out the Swiss Jil Teichmann in the second round.
Scream during rallies
And in another game, too, a scream caused trouble: in the first round match between Marie Bouzkova and Bianca Andreescu, the Canadian Andreescu let out a high-pitched scream after a shot during a rally.
Her competitor seems visibly irritated, her next shot goes into the net. Bouzkova complained loudly to the referee, but in vain – the point counts. Andreescu apologizes right after the hit.
In the end, the Canadian not only wins this point, but also the game in straight sets. (bjl)