Anett Kontaveit lastly cracked.
The No. 2 seed on the US Open left her press convention in tears after an emotional loss to Serena Williams on Wednesday evening. Kontaveit handled a raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd cheering on Williams, who's leaving the game after this Grand Slam.
Kontaveit answered questions from the English-speaking press and was gracious in her remarks concerning the viewers and Williams, who pulled off 7-6, 2-6, 6-2 upset. Nevertheless, when the Estonian received a query in her native tongue, she turned overwhelmed.
“I imply, it was exhausting … it was one thing I by no means skilled earlier than,” the 26-year-old stated. “I don’t assume it’s a private assault towards me or something. I imply, it’s honest. I undoubtedly had no disgrace dropping to Serena. It was very troublesome with the gang.”
The viewers — of their enthusiasm to look at Williams’ last Grand Slam run — usually celebrated Kontaveit’s errors, together with service faults, which is taken into account crass within the sport.
“I believed I didn’t play a nasty match in any respect,” Kontaveit stated earlier within the press convention. “She undoubtedly raised her degree within the third set. She performed wonderful. Within the first set she was serving so effectively in these necessary moments. I fought actually exhausting, thought I performed an honest match. She was higher as we speak.
“It was her second. I used to be attempting to do my very own factor. After all, that is completely about her. I used to be very conscious of that.”
Gunnar Leheste, a reporter for Delfi and Eesti Päevaleht, instructed on Twitter that he was the one who requested the query that led to Kontaveit’s emotional departure.
“I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention in any respect,” Leheste wrote in response to Racket’s Ben Rothenberg.
“I used to be simply thanking her for the best match that one Estonian can expertise through tv. She advised that she don’t must be embarrassed by loss towards Serena and that the gang was actually exhausting, and that was it.”
Williams will subsequent face Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in Friday’s third spherical in entrance of what's going to seemingly be one other exuberant Arthur Ashe Stadium viewers.
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