Aryna Sabalenka was left perplexed after being called for a hindrance during her Australian Open semi-final against Elina Svitolina - but thanked the umpire after revealing the contentious call “helped” her towards a dominant win.
Sabalenka returned to a fourth consecutive Australian Open final with a straight-sets win over Svitolina, with the call for hindrance from umpire Louise Azemar Engzell coming in the first point of the fourth game of the match.
Sabalenka was off-balance as she returned a ball on her forehand and prolonged a two-tone grunt in annoyance when her shot appeared to be drifting long. The ball landed in, however, with the umpire calling hindrance just as Svitolina returned, awarding the point to Svitolina.
Sabalenka appealed against call and requested a video review, but umpire Engzell - who put on a pair of headphones to listen back to Sabalenka’s grunt - retained her original decision.
After beating Svitolina 6-2 6-3 to maintain her impressive form in Melbourne, the world No 1 said: “That's actually never happened to me. Like, never happened to me, especially with my grunting.
“It's just like, the ball was deep. The ball was, the bounce was wrong, and it was just like the timing. I was exhaling and it just happened naturally.
“Then she called it, and I was, like, What? What is wrong with you? I think it was the wrong call, but whatever.
“She really - how do I say in a nice way - she really p***ed me off. It actually help me and benefited my game. I was more aggressive. I was not happy with the call, and it really helped me to get that game.
“So if she ever want to do it again, I want to make sure that she's not afraid of it. Go ahead, call it. It's going to help me.”
