Victoria Azarenka had a heated complaint regarding
Iga Swiatek's service delays during their second-round match at the
Bad Homburg Open. The two-time Grand Slam champion had come into the match with three consecutive wins but ultimately fell in straight sets to the Pole.
It was a tight duel from both sides, where 'Vika' played at a high level not seen from her in a while, but it wasn't enough to overcome the five-time Grand Slam champion. Swiatek ultimately secured the victory by being more decisive in critical moments, winning 6-4, 6-4.
After a first set in which Swiatek recovered from being 1-4 down, winning five consecutive games, the second set had been highly contested until Swiatek secured the break that put her ahead 4-3. The Pole needed to hold her serve to close out the match, and at 5-4, she faced a complicated moment with the score at 15-30.
It was then that Azarenka's frustration arose due to the time Swiatek was taking to serve. The Belarusian was waiting for her opponent's serve, but she was annoyed that Swiatek was taking more time than allowed, as Azarenka heatedly complained to the chair umpire. "Every time it's the same story," she shouted when she saw that Swiatek still hadn't played her serve after several seconds. "As soon as she's down in the game, she's taking her time. Like over the time. And you're not checking. Every time."
The complaints didn't escalate further, and play quickly resumed, with Swiatek hitting a strong second serve to the body to level at 30-30. Just two points later, Swiatek closed out the 6-4, 6-4 victory and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Bad Homburg Open.
Azarenka exits the tournament having gained a good number of points after overcoming qualifying and the first round against Laura Siegemund, which allowed her to return to the top 100 after being outside the elite group for a week. On the other hand, Swiatek awaits her opponent between Maria Sakkari and Ekaterina Alexandrova, who will face each other this Wednesday.