Aryna Sabalenka was left “p***** off” by Amanda Anisimova in her Wimbledon semi-final defeat, as she admitted that her anger should have been put to better use.
The world No1 fell to a third consecutive SW19 exit at the last-four stage, missing out on the chance to reach a fourth Grand Slam final in a row.
Sabalenka has a remarkable consistency in reaching the latter stages of tennis’ biggest tournaments, but the heartbreak is growing having already suffered final defeats in Melbourne and Paris this season.
On a boiling hot afternoon on Centre Court, with play twice halted so supporters could receive attention after falling ill, temperatures increased for both Sabalenka and Anisimova at times.
In the sixth game of the second set, Anisimova hit a backhand winner down the line but appeared to yell out as Sabalenka was still scrambling to try and retrieve it.
The top seed gestured to the umpire, suggesting it had been a hindrance issues, and Sabalenka’s trademark grunts of her own became increasingly loud during the game, capped off with an almighty scream as she held for 3-3.
That fired Sabalenka up and she went on to win the set and force a decider, and she regretted not carrying that intensity into the third said.
“I was just trying to chase the ball,” Sabalenka said at her post-match press conference when asked about that incident.
“She was already celebrating it. I was, like, I mean, that's a bit too early. Then she kind of p***** me off saying that, ‘Oh, that's what she does all the time’.
“I was grateful that she actually said that because I was, like, it's actually help me to keep fighting. I'm like, ‘Okay, now I'm going to show you the tennis’.
“I came back because I got really angry in that moment. So probably in the third set I should have remembered, and you know, [it] probably [would have] help[ed]. It is what it is.”
In the decider, a fortunate net cord gave Anisimova a hold and a 5-2 lead, and she appeared to raise her fist in celebration rather than offering an apology to Sabalenka.
“I just look at her and, I mean, for sure, she didn't hear me,” Sabalenka said.
“I was like, ‘You don't want to say sorry?’.
“She just wanted, I guess, badly to win this match. It's on her. If she doesn't feel like saying sorry, she barely got that point and she didn't feel like saying sorry for that tricky situation, that's on her.”
Sabalenka will now turn her attention to the hard-court swing and the defence of her US Open title later this summer.
It has been a frustrating Grand Slam season so far, particularly at the French Open when she produced 70 unforced errors in a ragged display against Coco Gauff in the final.
Sabalenka suggested in her post-match press conference after that match that Gauff had won because of those mistakes, rather than American playing well, but has since apologised for her “completely unprofessional” comments.
Walking in for her media duties after losing to Anisimova, Sabalenka joked: “You're not going to see Roland Garros press conference, so anyone who was waiting for that, you can leave right now.”
She was, though, typically honest when asked how this defeat compared to the loss in Paris.
Sabalenka responded: “I mean, losing sucks, you know?
“You always feel like you want to die, you don't want to exist anymore, and this is the end of your life.”
She added: “I think I should have been a little bit more brave today and remember that I'm on the top of the ranking, and I can do that. I think at some point at the match I forgot about that.”
