Aryna Sabalenka was left furious by a perceived lack of sportsmanship from Amanda Anisimova during her Wimbledon semi-final defeat.
The world no.1 fell to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 loss to the American Anisimova at the All England Club, who reached the first Grand Slam final of her career.
In an epic encounter that lasted 2 hours and 37 minutes, tensions between the pair ran high, and threatened to boil over at times.
One particular incident in the third set managed to rile Sabalenka, when her opponent refused to apologise after winning a point from a favourable net cord.
With Anisimova leading 4-2, she clinched the game when her forehand clipped the top of the net and left Sabalenka unable to return it.
Players usually hold a hand up in apology when that happens, but Anisimova instead punched the air in celebration.
This left Sabalenka visibly angered, who turned to her box before glaring at Anisimova and appearing to shout: ‘Why didn’t you sorry’.
And after the match, the Belarusian later admitted she had been irritated by the US star’s failure to offer an apology.
When asked about the incident, she said: “I was like: ‘You don’t want to say sorry?’
“She just wanted, I guess, badly, to win this match. It’s on her. If she doesn’t feel like saying sorry, like she barely got that point and she didn’t feel like saying sorry for that tricky situation, that’s on her.”
This wasn’t the only time Sabalenka was angered by Anisimova’s behaviour, who also appeared to celebrate a point prematurely.
During one point in the second set, the US star seemingly celebrated a backhand winner before the ball had gone past the three-time Grand Slam champion.
GettyWorld no.13 Anisimova now has a chance to clinch a first Grand Slam crown at Wimbledon[/caption] GettyDespite a fiery match, Sabalenka and Anisimova shared a hug at the net at the end of the semi-final clash[/caption]And Sabalenka didn’t hold back when she was asked about the moment in her post-match press conference.
The 27-year-old recalled: “I was just trying to chase the ball. Yeah, she was already celebrating it. I was like: ‘That’s a bit too early’.
“Then she kind of p***** me off saying that’s what she does all the time.
“But I was grateful she actually said that because it actually helped me to keep fighting.
“So, I came back because I got really angry in that moment.”
Despite Sabalenka’s comments however, Anisimova later said she had not been celebrating and that any noise heard was a ‘long grunt’.
View Tweet: twitter.com/hashtag/Wimbledon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Credit: Youtube: @WimbledonSabalenka later made her thoughts clear on Anisimova’s behaviour[/caption]When asked for her side of the story after the match, the 23-year-old said: “No, I wasn’t celebrating.
“It was just like a long grunt, I guess. I don’t really know what was the deal there to be honest because I didn’t feel like it was that interfering. I tried to not do it again.”
Despite the controversy, Anisimova was otherwise delighted as she celebrated reaching the Wimbledon final just two years after she stepped away from tennis for a mental health break.
Reflecting on her victory in her on-court interview, she said: “This doesn’t feel real right now.
“Aryna is such a tough competitor and I was absolutely dying out there.
“She’s an inspiration to me and so many other people.
Anisimova overpowered Sabalenka in an epic battle“To come out on top and be in the final at Wimbledon is incredibly special.
Anisimova added “To be honest, if you told me I would be in the final of Wimbledon I would not believe you. Especially not this soon.
“It’s been a year’s turnaround. To be in the final is just indescribable, honestly.”
Anisimova will now battle five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek for glory, who also reached her first-ever Wimbledon final with a thumping 6-2 6-0 victory over Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in the last four.
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