WATCH: “I am going to call the referee,” Maria Sakkari boils in anger over the loud celebration of Diana Shnaider in the second round of the Australian Open

Greek tennis star Maria Sakkari could not contain her frustration over the loud celebration of her Russian opponent.

WATCH: “I am going to call the referee,” Maria Sakkari boils in anger over the loud celebration of Diana Shnaider in the second round of the Australian Open

Diana Shnaider, Maria Sakkara

In an unexpected turn of events, Greek tennis player Maria Sakkari was seen fuming over her opponent Diana Shnaider’s celebration during the second set of the second-round match of the Australian Open. Sakkari looked visibly angry and complained to the chair umpire about the same. But the unanticipated response from Sakkari to a harmless celebration by the Russian surprised everyone. 

The 18-year-old Shnaider came through qualifying to secure her place in her first-ever Grand Slam main draw this year. But the court the teenager showed tremendous energy that at some point Sakkari found too hot to handle. 

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For Sakkari things got intense during the send set having already lost the first one. A frustrated Sakkari was seen walking toward the umpire to complain about the behavior of Shnaider. “If she screams one more time to my face I am going to call the referee,” Sakkari was heard saying repeatedly. No one on the ground including the commentators knew what to make of that.

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Maria Sakkari emerged victorious eventually despise tough resistance

Maria Sakkari

Despite some tough fighting from the 18-year-old Russian at the end, Maria Sakkari sailed through 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Sakkari, the No. 6 seed, advanced to the third round with this victory. Next, Sakkari will face either 32nd seed Jil Teichmann or Zhu Lin in the third round. 

“I thought I was gonna lose,” said Sakkari after the thrilling contest. Despite some on-court hostility, the Greek also applauded her opponent in the post-match conversation. “She’s very young, she’s very promising. Maybe she should consider not going to college,” Sakkari expressed. 

“It’s never easy to play someone you have never played before, never seen before on the tour. I was a little bit hesitant. She was swinging very hard, she was playing very aggressively. I know I should have been more aggressive because I was very far back from the baseline, running and defending every single ball, which is not my game,” she continued. 

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