Caroline Wozniacki has attacked the tactics used by Dayana Yastremska in their second round match at the 2020 Australian Open.
The former world number one and 2018 Australian Open winner, Wozniacki was clearly unhappy with Yastremska’s decision to use a medical timeout in the second set of their encounter on Wednesday. The Dane was 5-4 up in the second set when her opponent opted to call for medical help, and while it was well within the rules, Wozniacki didn’t see any reason for the decision.
Wozniacki said Yastremska had used this tactic in the past as well in a bid to break her rhythm and she was expecting it too.
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In a scathing assessment, Wozniacki said:
“At 5-4 I don’t think there was anything wrong, she was running just fine. That’s a trick that she’s done before and I knew it was coming.”
The incident followed after Yastremksa lost her rhythm and a 3-0 lead in the second set to allow her opponent to claw back and garner a 5-4 lead. Wozniacki had already won the first set and went on to clinch the match 7-5, 7-5 to advance to the third round where she will take on Ons Jabeur.
If things go to plan she could face close friend Serena Williams in the fourth round of the tournament. Williams faces Wang Qiang in her third round match.
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19-year-old Yastremska was accused of doing the same in the first match of her season at the Brisbane International where she faced Kiki Bertens. Bertens, who defeated her in three sets in that match, had said Yastremska had taken a medical timeout in each of the three matches they had faced in the past.
It had happened at the Hua Hin Open in 2019 as well, where Yastremska came back from 5-2 down in the final set to defeat Ajla Tomljanovic but not before she had taken a timeout. And while players are allowed to take such timeouts to treat any kind of injury, players can receive a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct if the officials suspect the rule is being misused.
19-year-old Yastremska is ranked 21st in the world, and made the final at the Adelaide International earlier this season before getting beaten by Ash Barty in the title-decider. She won two titles last season, at Strasbourg and Hua Hin to up her career titles tally to three.
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