Playing her second-round match against 18-year-old Diana Shnaider, the sixth seed rallied to beat the teenager, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. However, the Russian’s fiery celebrations during the match did not go down well with the former World No. 3.
Sakkari threatened to call the match referee during the second set if the Russian teenager did not stop her loud celebrations.
However, the current World No. 6’s reaction to the teenager’s fist pumping in getting a few points against the top-10 players didn’t please the fans. They turned to social media to reflect on the incident and slammed Maria Sakkari, calling her out for her behavior.
Some fans criticized the Greek by wondering what it would have been like if former World No. 1 players like Serena Williams or Maria Sharapova had reacted the same way to each other’s screaming after winning a point.
A fan loathed her reaction and pointed out her hypocrisy as she herself celebrated loudly in another match.
Another fan mentioned how Sharapova would react to Sakkari’s threat. The tweet hinted at an iconic moment during the Russian’s 2012 match against Agnieskza Radwanska.
Fans continued to lash out at Sakkari for her antics, calling her a “loser”.
Some more fan reactions to the incident are as follows:
Maria Sakkari to face the winner of Jil Teichmann- Zhu Lin clash in 3R of the Australian Open 2023
Maria Sakkari booked her place in the third round of the Australian Open 2023 after beating Diana Shnaider. In the first round of the tournament, the 27-year-old comfortably beat Yue Yuan, 6-1, 6-4, in the opening round of the Major.
Maria Sakkari will face either Jil Teichmann or Zhu Lin on Friday, January 20 in the third round of the tournament. Sakkari has never faced Teichmann before and has a 1-0 head-to-head advantage over Lin.
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