The 'poor' call that almost derailed Dasha's Open campaign
Daria Gavrilova kept her hopes alive at the Australian Open, but not before an incident with the chair umpire in the second round that threatened to derail her tournament.
The Aussie was 4-3 up in the deciding set against Croatian teen Ana Konjuh, when she was hit for a time penalty with the scores locked at 30-30.
Boos rang out from the parochial home crowd as Gavrilova engaged in a verbal battle with the chair umpire.
Much like the crowd Dasha was unimpressed with the umpire. Pic: Channel 7
The official penalised the Aussie for taking three seconds longer to serve than the allotted 20-seconds.
Gavrilova was clearly incensed with the call, as were the commentators who thought common sense should have prevailed at such a crucial stage in the match.
"Im not a great fan of umpires doing this sort of stuff, I've gotta say," Todd Woodbridge said on the Seven broadcast.
"This is where he (the umpire) becomes an influence in the match and right now at this point of a match, don't change momentum for players."
"That's poor, poor refereeing."
The umpire's call was slammed by the commentators. Pic: Channel 7
Fortunately for Gavrilova, the incident didn't prove to be a momentum-changer as she brushed aside the frustration to hold serve.
The Aussie managed to seal her place in the third round by seeing out the set to claim a 6-2 1-6 6-4 victory.
"I lost my cool a little bit, but it's not easy (in such an intense match)," Gavrilova said.
"I just knew that I had to do it again to get the win. I’m proud of myself."
The 22nd-seed said the unwavering support form the home faithful inside Hisense Arena helped pull her through.
"I absolutely love it — it's one of my favourite courts and I always get the best support out here."
Gavrilova is set to face Swiss 12th-seed Timea Bacsinszky in the fourth round on Saturday.
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