Maria Sharapova threw a little shade in Caroline Wozniacki’s direction on Thursday in Madrid when she was asked about the Dane’s frustration with the lack of let cords during the first set of their quarterfinal.
More: Fire at Rome's Fiumicino Airport Causes Hectic Travel Day for Tennis Players
Twice in the same game, Wozniacki thought she heard the ball hit the cord on Sharapova’s serve, but there was no call. She approached the chair to plead her case to umpire Juan Zhang
Sharapova said at first that she had no comment, then she went on to, well, comment. Here’s the press transcript:
Q. Caroline talked about the net calls in the first set. Do you have any comments on that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: “No, I don't. I don't know honestly. I think one of them might have been a net call. I don't know about the other two or three she was referring to. I've seen this from Caroline a few times.
In Singapore it was about the lighting. This time it's about the -- there was something about the Open as well. I think she enjoys playing with the crowd and with the umpire a little bit. Takes a little bit of time for her.”
Wozniacki told her version of the incident, adding that the fact that there is no microphone on the cords in Madrid makes things very difficult. “I don't know if it threw me off,” she said, “but there was three clear net calls that were not called. We both stopped. ‘Are you kidding me? Can you not hear that? Are you serious?’ Because it was big. It wasn't like it was maybe or maybe not. It was clear. I think definitely there should be let machines on all courts or they should allow lets if that's how we're going to play it.”
Photo: Christopher Levy