On a contentious day at Bad Homburg, German player Jule Niemeier produced the upset of the competition by eliminating the top-seeded player, Maria Sakkari, in three sets.
The outcome of the game was not the only topic of conversation, though, as both players were involved in some controversies. Sakkari was trailing 2-1 in the third set, but she was on the verge of tying the score in the fourth game when she began a 40-15 attack. At this moment, the situation took a dramatic turn as Niemeir contested the umpire’s call of a point.
As the review result was revealed, the German gained another point because the point was in. Sakkari, on the other hand, approached the chair umpire to clarify that the German’s return was out and that she had simply brushed the ball away. It wasn’t a comeback. In an attempt to clarify, the umpire said that he witnessed the shot as it slashed over to her opponent’s court. The German has a point, therefore.
Sakkari became even angrier over this, claiming that the umpire had been biased in favour of the Germans from the start of the competition. The Greek player was booed by the audience during the controversy, indicating how ungrateful they were of her charges. But this is not a single instance of a dispute between a player and an umpire.
Maria Sakkari in 2024
At the moment ranked no.9, Sakkari played her last match on the 24th of June when she lost to world no.96 Jule Niemeier 2-6 6-2 7-6(4) in the 1st round in Bad Homburg (draw).
During this season Maria has achieved an overall 21-13 match record. Maria Sakkari’s most significant result of the present year was reaching the final in Indian Wells.