WATCH: Maria Sakkari accuses umpire of bias during loss against Jule Niemeier at Bad Homburg Open

Maria Sakkari was extremely rattled during her match against Jule Neimeier.

WATCH: Maria Sakkari accuses umpire of bias during loss against Jule Niemeier at Bad Homburg Open

Maria Sakkari at Bad Homburg (via Imago/screengrab)

It was a day of controversies at Bad Homburg as German lucky loser Jule Niemeier created the biggest upset of the tournament, knocking out top seed Maria Sakkari in three sets. She progresses to the last 16 and will now meet Paula Badosa.

However, the match result wasn’t the only talking point, as both players were involved in multiple controversies. The biggest one came when Sakkari lost her cool in the final set after the umpire awarded a point to her opponent. Maria Sakkari openly bashed the umpire.

Of course you are a German! You are going to give the point to her.
Maria Sakkari was heard saying during her rant
Maria Sakkari accuses umpire of bias: Of course! You're German, you're gonna give the point to her! ??
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The situation arose in the fourth game of the third set when Sakkari appeared not to have played a shot as the linesman called ‘out’. However, the umpire awarded the point to Niemeier.

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Sakkari was criticized on social media for the way she reacted towards the umpire. However, the majority agreed that the umpire was wrong and the point should have been replayed.

The second controversy occurred when Niemeier herself appeared frustrated. The 24-year-old hit the ball in frustration, which nearly hit Sakkari on the other side of the court. Niemeier apologized, but she could have defaulted if the ball had made contact with her opponent.

Jule Niemeier secures the upset over top seed Maria Sakkari

In the first round of the Bad Homburg Open, two of the top four seeds faced off against German lucky losers. Beatriz Haddad Maia, the No.4 seed, had a tough match but managed to defeat Tamara Korpatsch with a score of 6-1, 7-6(6). Meanwhile, Jule Niemeier caused an upset by beating No.1 seed Maria Sakkari 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(4).

Jule Niemeier
Jule Niemeier (via Imago)

Niemeier, who previously reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals, secured her fourth career Top 10 win. Three of these victories have been on grass. She had earlier defeated Anett Kontaveit at Wimbledon in 2022 and Ons Jabeur in Berlin in 2023.

Originally, Sakkari was supposed to play against Elisabetta Cocciaretto. However, Cocciaretto withdrew due to illness, and Niemeier stepped in, learning she would play only 30 minutes before the match. She had a slow start, making 19 unforced errors in the first set, but gradually found her rhythm.

Niemeier’s strong forehands and skillful volleys helped her dominate the next two sets, leading 5-3 in the third. She became nervous trying to close out the match, missing a backhand on her first match point at 6-5. However, the 24-year-old stayed composed during the tiebreak, which ended with Sakkari’s two double faults. The Greek tennis player is now on a four-match losing streak.

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