Iga Swiatek left fuming in quarter-final controversy at US Open
Iga Swiatek has clashed with the chair umpire in heated scenes during her quarter-final victory at the US Open.
The World No.1 was locked in a tense battle with Jessica Pegula during the second set of their last eight showdown on Wednesday when Swiatek was hit with a time violation.
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While it is normally the server who gets warned about falling foul of the shot clock, on this occasion Swiatek was the returner.
Pegula was ready to serve but was held up because Swiatek had gone to get her towel after a long rally.
The World No.1 wasn't happy when chair umpire Kader Nouni issued a time violation warning for making Pegula wait.
She walked towards the chair and threw her arms up in exasperation, saying "show me the rule."
The general rule of thumb is that the server dictates the pace of play and the returner must be ready when the server wants to commence the next point.
Fans and commentators were left taken aback by the drama for the usually unflappable Swiatek.
Ok, Swiatek was called out by the umpire for time violation. You never heard that call with Nadal who is always with his rituals even when the opponents are ready to serve. I believe, the rules are stricter for the girls than the boys, especially the big guns. 🙃
— Labu (@MdFryas) September 8, 2022
Iga Swiatek trying to argue with Umpire Jesus uh oh.. (he is right)#USOpen #USOpen2022 #USOpentennis #Pegula #swiatek #Alcaraz pic.twitter.com/euRvQ3c7pe
— Skate Mulkireena (@mulkireena) September 8, 2022
A bit of drama as #Swiatek argues with the umpire after receiving a time violation on her opponent #Pegula's serve. "Show me the rule" says Iga who went to towel off because there was enough time but Jessie was ready to serve #USOpen Iga was up a set & break but it's on serve now
— SportsTalk (@rajeshworld) September 8, 2022
That time violation was for the right player. Swiatek was holding up Pegula who was ready to serve. Swiatek has used this tactic of holding up the server all year. First time I've seen her get called out on it. Thank you Kader Nouni.
— Jorge Boyas (@BoyasJorge) September 8, 2022
@JLPegula rightfully gets a time violation IN HER FAVOR. @iga_swiatek constantly holding Pegula up when Pegula is ready to serve, and especially on the ad side during break/game points. Pegula having to restart her routine almost every time, and 5 seconds left on her shot clock
— CJ (@cap616) September 8, 2022
The World No.1's frustrations appeared to get the best of her despite winning the first set 6-3.
Swiatek and Pegula traded five consecutive breaks of serve each in the second set in a back-and-forth battle in which neither player managed to seize their opportunities.
However Polish star Swiatek finally managed to seal the match after it went to a tie-breaker, winning 6-3 7-6 (6-4) to advance to the semi-finals.
Swiatek broke serve seven times in the match, with Pegula breaking six times.
Aryna Sabalenka surges into US Open semi-finals
Aryna Sabalenka earlier reached the semi-finals for the second year running with victory over Karolina Pliskova.
The Belarusian, who was beaten by Leylah Fernandez in the last four 12 months ago, negotiated a close second set on Wednesday to defeat Pliskova 6-1 7-6 (7-4).
Sabalenka, who trailed Kaia Kanepi 6-2 5-1 in the second round before winning, will attempt to reach her first career grand slam final. She lost to Pliskova in the last four at Wimbledon last summer.
The 24-year-old was unable to play at Wimbledon this year because of the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, instead using the time to train in Miami.
Having struggled horribly with her serve at the beginning of the year, hitting a huge numbers of double faults, Sabalenka appears to have fixed the problem.
Her serve worked very well, with the sixth seed not facing a single break point and hitting three times as many winners as Pliskova.
"Today I expected a great level," Sabalenka said in an on-court interview.
"I just tried to stay in this match as long as I can.
"Right now I'm not going for aces I'm just trying to put my serve on the big targets."
with AAP
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