Sonay Kartal was knocked out of Wimbledon after her Russian rival claimed the British player got special treatment when the electronic line calling failed on Centre Court. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 34, recovered to knock the last British female out of the singles 7-6 6-4.
But the former French Open final was furious when the technology failed at 4-4 in the tight first set when a Kartal shot appeared to go long on game point. German umpire Nico Helwerth ordered the point to be replayed and Pavlyuchenkova had her serve broken to allow the home player serve for the set.
At the next changeover, the Russian said “They stole a game from me. Because she is local, they can say whatever.”
Wimbledon has dispensed with line judges for the first time this year and both Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu claimed the electronic calling is not accurate. And during his third round win on Saturday, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was heard saying to the umpire: “I’m not sure about some calls. It’s not the first time.”
Kartal was playing her first Grand Slam fourth round and was bidding to become the first British woman to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals since Jo Konta in 2017. She would also have become British No.1 though she still overtakes Emma Raducanu to be the nation’s second-ranked singles player.
But instead Pavlyuchenkova used her experience and sheer power from the baseline as she hit 20 forehand winners and attacked the Kartal second serve to break five times. It is the second time she has reached the quarter-finals here after losing to Serena Williams in 2016.
Pavlyuchenkova was confined to bed only five months ago with Lyme disease after reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals. She needed to take antibiotics for six weeks but has returned to win the semi-finals in Eastbourne and beat four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka in the third round.
She will play the winner of the tie between No.13 seed Amanda Anisimova and No.30 seed Linda Noskova in the last eight on Tuesday. For Kartal, her fourth Wimbledon has been a great experience.
The Brighton-based star made a nervy start on her first appearance on Centre Court. Pavlyuchenkova held her opening service game to love and then took her second break point in the next game with a superb backhand overhead dink over her 5ft 4in opponent to lead 2-0.
But Kartal settled into the match and won the next three games, including two breaks of serve. She first broke the Pavlyuchenkova serve to love when the Russian’s backhand drop shot failed to reach the net.
And after holding her serve, she broke the former world No.11’s serve again when Pavlyuchenkova pulled a forehand into the tramlines.
But the momentum of the match changed again when the Russian ended a punishing rally with a backhand drop volley winner to break again and bring the score to 3-3.
The world No.50 then saved four break points in the next game to lead 4-3 before Kartal held for 4-4 and before the controversial break in the ninth game.
Pavlyuchenkova had a game point when a Kartal backhand appeared to land over the baseline. The Russian stopped playing but there was no call.
After consulting with the players, German umpire Nico Helworth announced: “The Electronic Line Calling was unfortunately unable to track the ball so we replay the point.”
Pavlyuchenkova dropped her serve when she dumped a forehand volley into the net and told Helwerth at the changeover: “I don’t know if it’s in or it’s out. How do I know? How can you prove it? Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me.”
Helwerth responded: “I have to trust the system. If they tell me it’s up and running there’s nothing we can do. That’s the rule unfortunately.”
And Pavlyuchenkova said: “They stole a game from me. They stole it.”
Kartal was then broken serving for the set at 5-4. In the tiebreak, the Russian raced into a 6-3 lead and took her first set point when the home favourite missed with a forehand after 77 minutes. Pavlyuchenkova made 36 unforced errors.
The second set was less dramatic. After exchanging early breaks, the Russian broke again in the fifth game allowing her to serve for the match at 5-4. And she took her first match point after just over two hours with a forehand winner down the line.
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