Ajla to resume rivalry
Ugly clash in the past
Ajla Tomljanovic says there is no bad blood between her and Jelena Ostapenko as the two prepare to reignite their fiery rivalry in the second round of the Australian Open.
“No, I really don’t think so,” Tomljanovic said when asked about their clash at Wimbledon in 2021.
“What happened, happened. It’s been a while. I think we played each other after once more and she beat me.
“I have respect for her as a player. What happened, that was just in that moment. I just reacted. We never spoke about it. We’re both going to be competitive. I do think at least from my side I respect her as a tennis player. In that moment, I wasn’t happy.”
Ostapenko said Tomljanovic was the “worst player on tour” as part of a heated exchange following the Aussie’s thirdround win at the All England Club in 2021.
On that day, Tomljanovic led Ostapenko 4-0 in the deciding third set when the Latvian star called for a medical time-out.
Tomljanovic felt Ostapenko was faking the injury to stop her momentum after she had won seven games on the bounce, but her protest to the umpire went unheard.
She won the final set 6-2 but when the two approached the net to shake hands, Ostapenko took aim. “If you think I am faking, you can talk to the physio,” Ostapenko said.
Tomljanovic replied: “I hope you feel better.”
Ostapenko responded:
“Your behaviour is terrible. You have zero respect.”
The Aussie later said Ostapenko’s behaviour was “disgraceful”.
Ostapenko doubled down on her injury claim and said she would have comfortably beaten Tomljanovic if fully fit.
“If I played at least 50 per cent, I would have beaten her,” she said.
Ostapenko, now No.10 in the world, will go into their second-round match as a heavy favourite after defeating another Aussie, Kimberley Birrell, in straight sets on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old won the French Open in 2017 and was a quarter-finalist at Melbourne Park last year.
“She’s a great player,” Tomljanovic said.
“I’m definitely the underdog.”
Despite her strong grand slam pedigree, having reached three quarter-finals, the 30year-old has never progressed beyond the second round at Melbourne Park.