The ASB Classic has been overshadowed by a heated exchange between Naomi Broady and Jelena Ostapenko after Broady demanded the Latvian be disqualified.
British world no. 122 Broady recovered from the brink of defeat to overcome Ostapenko 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 during the controversial match at the ASB Classic. The meeting was a gutsy encounter for the Brit who was one point away from going out of the tournament. The opening set was a roller-coaster encounter for both players with four breaks of service in the first six games. The inconsistency of Broady’s serve costed her dearly whilst serving 4-5. During a testing game, consisting of three deuces, the Brit prevailed after Ostapenko converted her third break point in the game to take the opening set.
The former Wimbledon girls’ champion looked on course for a straight sets win after charging to a 5-2 lead in the second set. As Broady served 3-5 down, Ostapenko had her first match point but failed to convert. The failure enabled Broady to break her rival in the following game for the third time in the match, forcing the set into what was a bad tempered tie-break.
The tiebreaker was overshadowed after Ostapenko let go off her racket which hit the ball boy. A furious Broady immediately complained to the umpire and demanded that the Latvian be disqualified from the game. Under rules if a player intentionally injures a member of a court they are disqualified. The umpire refused to dismiss Ostapenko, saying that it was accidental. The decision infuriated Broady and resulted in the tournament referee being summoned to the court.
#Watch Tempers flare at the @ASB_Classic after Jelena Ostapenko’s racket hits a ball boy #ASBClassic https://t.co/zMoqX2bw24
— Stuff.co.nz News (@NZStuff) January 6, 2016
The mood of the match suddenly changed with both players locking horns. As controversy started to overshadow proceedings, Broady won the crucial tie-break 7-3 to keep her alive in the match.
The final set ended in a similar pattern to the opening set with Ostapenko grabbing a seemingly dominant lead before the determined Brit battled back. Broady was trailing 1-5 in the final set before sensationally winning six consecutive games, to book her place in the quarterfinals.
The conflict between the two players continued after the match ended. When the players met at the net, Broady alleged that Ostapenko said her ‘behavior was terrible’. Despite the allegation, Broady reiterated in her press conference that her rival was the one in the wrong.
“It was quite clear that she threw her racket and it hit a ball kid, which should be straight disqualified,” Broady said.
“The chair umpire said Jelena said to him that it slipped from her hand, so he said it was just a code violation or something.
“But on the replay it’s quite clear that it didn’t slip from her hand, but that’s tennis, you go by what the chair umpire says and get on with the match and I managed to keep myself together quite well”. She concluded.
Brody will play fifth seed Sloane Stephens in the quarter-final.
Elsewhere there was a much calmer scene in Caroline Wozniacki’s dominating 6-0, 6-2, win over world No.63 Christina McHale. Wozniacki is the highest ranked player left in the draw after a duo of exits by Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic. After racing to 6-0, 5-0, the Dane encountered a late resurgence from McHale before taking the match with her fifth match point. During the match Wozniacki produced 15 unforced errors compared to her opponents 33.
“The win was very satisfying. I got a bit nervous towards the end” Wozniacki said during her on court interview.
“I felt that I played really well today, much better than yesterday”.
Wozniacki is one of only two seeded players to reach the last eight of the tournament. In the next round she will play Romania’s Alexandra Dulgheru. Dulgheru defeated New Zealand wildcard Marina Erakovic in straight sets during her match.
