Jelena Ostapenko advanced to the Wimbledon mixed doubles semi-finals with partner Marcelo Arevalo after a straight-sets victory over Laura Siegemund and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. The match ended in a fiery altercation, with Siegemund refusing to shake hands and Ostapenko telling her to 'learn to lose'.
Post-Match Confrontation
After the final point, Siegemund and Roger-Vasselin rushed to the umpire to complain about a time violation. Ostapenko joined the argument, which escalated quickly. Siegemund questioned the umpire: 'On a point like that, maybe a little bit of fingertip feeling, a little bit.' The umpire replied: 'You know at the Club we don't have that.' Siegemund added: 'With the right players you have it.'
Ostapenko's Response
Roger-Vasselin pushed back, claiming the umpire was mistaken. Ostapenko then said: 'It's a very good rule, he did a great job, finally somebody's not afraid to do that... Somebody's not afraid to do that when she's taking like two minutes between serves, and before the serve. And everyone knows this.' Roger-Vasselin continued: 'But he didn't warn us anytime.'
Ostapenko then aimed a dig at Siegemund: 'You have to handle defeats better, learn to lose.' Siegemund stormed off the court, having already refused to shake hands.
Ostapenko's Singles Exit
Ostapenko had been knocked out of the singles by Aryna Sabalenka, allowing her to focus on doubles. Sabalenka, the world No. 1, commented on Ostapenko's power: 'Yeah, that's scary. You know, that's really scary. She's really dangerous and in the last match I played against her, I couldn't do anything. She just smashed me off the court. I'm really happy that I was able to get this win, especially in straight sets.' Sabalenka was later beaten by Naomi Osaka in straight sets.
