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Victoria Azarenka's brilliant reaction to rival's salty tantrum

andrew reid
·3-min read
Pictured here, Victoria Azarenka has a laugh at the expense of Yulia Putintseva.
Victoria Azarenka couldn't help but laugh after her opponent's post-match temper tantrum. Pic: WTA

Infamous tennis hot-head Yulia Putintseva's fiery temperament has re-emerged during a warm-up match for the Australian Open.

The 26-year-old Kazakh infamously flipped off the crowd after a loss at the Australian Open in 2019 and her questionable antics once again proved a talking point on Friday.

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Putintseva lost a three-set thriller against former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka in the Grampians Trophy - an event staged for players that were forced into hard lockdown in Melbourne.

Seen here, Yulia Putintseva in action against Victoria Azarenka in an Australian Open warm-up match.
Yulia Putintseva was not happy after losing her Australian Open warm-up match on Friday. Pic: Getty

Two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka saved a match point on her way to a 6-4, 1-6, 11-9 victory that sees her move into the quarter-finals of the tournament.

While the Belarusian was all smiles after the match, the same couldn't be said for her opponent, who was obviously fuming about her inability to close out the match.

Putintseva's frustrations started to build when Azarenka produced tennis from the top shelf to stave off match point in the deciding third set.

The Belarusian had been forced into the net and was on the ropes when Putintseva played a wicked backhand cross-court shot.

However, the two-time Australian Open champion managed to produce a clutch volley to claim the point and save the match in stunning fashion.

Azarenka capitalised on the momentum from that game-changing moment to eventually go on and clinch a thrilling third set, prompting a dummy spit from her opponent.

A clearly disgusted Putintseva smashed her racquet in anger, before both players approached one another at the net as they walked off.

Azarenka held out her racquet to congratulate Putintseva on the match, but her opponent was clearly in no mood for formalities as she stormed off the court.

The Belarusian then turned around to shoot a cheeky smile at her coach, with viewers also finding Putintseva's post-match temper tantrum amusing.

Putintseva making a name for herself in Melbourne

It's not the first time during this year's Australian Open build-up that Putintseva has courted controversy, with the Kazakh one of the most vocal critics of the quarantine situation.

The 26-year-old was at the centre of two incidents while in hard lockdown in Melbourne, having complained about a rodent situation in her hotel room and also the lack of fresh air available.

Putintseva posted a number of videos of rodents scurrying across her Melbourne hotel room, hitting out at staff after her requests to change her accomodation fell on deaf ears.

The Kazakh also complained that her hotel room did not have a single window she could open up to allow some fresh air in.

The tennis star held up a cardboard sign and on social media wrote: “We need fresh air to breathe.”

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A post shared by Yulia Putintseva (@yulia_putintseva)

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