Yulia Putintseva has criticized Australian Open fans for their “disrespectful” behavior after her third-round win over Zeynep Sonmez.
Sonmez, who became a crowd favorite after helping a fainted prom girl, had strong support from Melbourne’s large Turkish community, creating a partisan atmosphere. Nonetheless, Putintseva won 6-3 6-7 (3) 6-3 to reach the fourth round in Melbourne for the first time at the age of 31.
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After the final point, Putintseva danced in celebration and pointed to the stands, prompting boos during the post-match interview.
Putintseva commented on the spectator’s behavior: “There’s always someone supporting, someone cheering, and that’s the great thing about this sport. But today, I think there were really a lot of disrespectful moments when they were screaming between my first and second serve. Like really loud, just to make me (make) mistakes.”
Putintseva reaches the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time (Reuters)
She recounted one specific incident: “I thought the score was 4-3, which was an important score, and I opened up the court well. I took a forehand, and the guy just started coughing just for my shot. I was like, ‘Okay, now I’m not going to lose.'”
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Putintseva expressed her determination: “I’m ready to accept it all, but I’m also ready to fight until I die there. What can I do?
“It’s just that some people have a tennis education and, unfortunately, some don’t. I’m glad I kept my cool because Yulia probably would have thrown something at them at some point last year.”
Putintseva revealed she keeps calm by singing to herself an old Russian song about a rabbit.
“It’s very old-school, from old movies,” she explains. “It doesn’t matter, it’s just the rabbit eating grass. I’m just using this to distract myself.”
She contrasted this with her usual listening habits: “Normally I’d listen to Taylor Swift’s ‘The Weeknd,’ but now there’s a Bunny song coming on. I don’t know why.”