Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva tried to take the umpire to task after her run at Wimbledon was ended in controversial fashion as she was docked a point.
The 16-year-old took the first set of her fourth round match 6-3 against Madison Keys but then was given a warning for throwing her racquet after the American levelled the match via a tiebreak. And it was the 25th seed who then assumed control in the decider, leaving 5-2 and on deuce when Andreeva, serving to stay in the contest, seemingly repeated the offence.
The young star did appear to be off balance at the time, and duly protested to umpire Julie Kjendlie, arguing: "I didn't throw the racquet, I slid." She did manage to save the match point that followed, only for Keys to take the next two to seal a 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 victory.
A clearly irate Andreeva, who has become a fan favourite at SW19 these past eight days, then congratulated her opponent. However, she pointedly ignored the umpire as she left court two, and hastily headed for the locker rooms without the customary handshake.
Some of her frustration may have derived from her failure to close out the match when in control of the second set, having initially been 4-1 and a break up before Keys upped the ante. That was proceeded by her throwing her racquet towards her bag, which prompted the first warning.
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It meant a tainted end to what has otherwise been a breakthrough Championship for the teenage star, who shocked 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova in her run to the second week. Monday's match represented her first last-16 tie at a Grand Slam event, having reached the third round of the French Open at Roland Garros this year.
And following that tournament, she cited Andy Murray as her inspiration, having previously told the Tennis Channel: “When you’re here and take a lunch with all these stars, you see Andy Murray, you see his face and he’s so beautiful in life, he is so amazing."
Murray responded with her joke about her needing to get her "eyes fixed," and the pair duly kept in touch, with Andreeva revealing Murray had messaged her his support ahead of her first win at a Slam event: “I didn’t see Andy Murray since Madrid because he is not here but, after he won a Challenger, I texted him," she said.
“I said, ‘Congratulations’. He actually answered me, so I was really happy about it. He said, ‘Thank you and good luck in Roland Garros’. Maybe that’s why I’m playing that good now.”
