Gavrilova gives her Insta fans the flick
SAM Stosur has decried social media trolls after countrywoman Daria Gavrilova was the subject of abuse yesterday.
Gavrilova was forced to block people from commenting on her Instagram account after the local favourite copped extreme heat from punters who had backed her to win.
Gavrilova surrendered a 5-0 first-set lead against Belgian Elise Mertens in a match that started a tick before midnight to lose the match 7-5, 6-3.
She later revealed “fans” had added more insult to her injury, posting: “Thanks everyone who keeps supporting me and for all your sweet messages! And . . . shhh to all the betting people ... I copped it hard last night. Only people I follow can comment on my posts now, so my family doesn’t see all the ‘love’ I get.”
Stosur, a WTA player council member, said yesterday she had limited her time on social media because of nasty people.
“My social media, I haven’t been on it for a while and there’s a reason for that because this type of stuff can happen,” she said.
“I applaud Dash . . . I think a lot of it’s probably due to gambling in tennis, they obviously lose some money on you and they’re not happy about it and they take it out on Twitter, Instagram or whatever platform they can.
“It’s a big problem around the world, no matter what generation, how old you are, sport, no sport.
“It’d be great to see something be done with it, but probably the only thing you can to deal with it now is not to look at it.”