Martina Navratilova has come to the defence of Amanda Anisimova after the Wimbledon finalist attracted the ire of Aryna Sabalenka. The American shocked the World No. 1 in the semi-finals at SW19, overcoming her 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
However, the talking point of the contest came in the seventh game of the deciding set, when Anisimova’s forehand down the line clipped the top of the net cord and wrong-footed a helpless Sabalenka, winning her the game. In tennis, particularly at Wimbledon, it is an unwritten, but golden rule, that a player should apologise if they win a point in that fashion, usually through the raising of their racket. Instead, the American clenched her fist and celebrated. Sabalenka has since revealed that she felt “p***ed off” by the celebration and that her opponent should have apologised. The Belarusian also claimed the 13th seed also celebrated a point while a rally was still ongoing, an accusation Anisimova has since denied. Looking back on the ordeal, Navratilova came to the defence of the latter.
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Speaking to Clare Balding and Anne Keothavong on the BBC‘s coverage, Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam winner who won Wimbledon nine times, said: “Most of the time, you’re not even looking at your opponent when you lose the point. I don’t think Amanda was doing anything on purpose. I think she was just so concentrated on being on her side of the court and being right there to not get distracted or anything like that.
“Even when any other distractions were happening, she was right there. You could see she was really trying hard to concentrate and really didn’t want to break it. I think it was more that than anything else.”
Balding agreed with Navratilova, saying: “Obviously, players do quite often make an apology if they feel that in winning a point, they got lucky. But, I’m not sure in that particular point, Anisimova was lucky. I think she would have won the point, whether it touched the net or not.”
In response, Keothavong explained that it is etiquette to apologise if you win a point via a net cord, but also admitted it’s easy to forget when in the heat of a match. The former British No. 1 said: “Yeah, it’s a difficult one. The etiquette is to put your hand up and apologise if your ball touches the top of the net and goes over.
“But, equally, this is the semi-final of Wimbledon and you have got two fierce competitors out there desperate to win, throwing everything they have got at this match. In the heat of competition, you do not care how you win the point, you just win the point one way or the other. If a bit of luck goes your way, so be it, you’ve got to take it.”
Anisimova will face Iga Swiatek in the final on Centre Court on Saturday, July 12. It will be her first Grand Slam final and her best performance since 2019, when she reached the semi-final of the French Open.
Despite her disagreement with Sabalenka, Anismiova praised her opponent’s fight during their battle. The American said: “She’s such a tough player. I knew that I had to really dig deep and make as few mistakes as possible.
“So yeah, it’s really hard trying to have to play perfect tennis because that’s the only way to really get the win, but I feel like we really fought out there today. The conditions weren’t easy.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk