Yulia Putintseva threw shade at Iga Swiatek after knocking out the world No.1 in their third-round Wimbledon clash, claiming she was “bored” during what she perceived to be lengthy bathroom breaks for the top seed.
Putintseva had never beaten Swiatek in their four previous meetings, but surprised Court 1 by upsetting the four-time French Open champion 3-6 6-1 6-2.
Despite reaching the fourth round at SW19, Putintseva was not impressed with her opponent who she felt was spending far too much time off the court between points.
She wanted to move quickly between sets and when asked if her movement was a deliberate tactic after being made to wait so long, the Russian-born Kazakhstani star replied: “Honestly, not at all. I was a bit, like, not annoyed, but she took a lot of time off the court. I don’t know what the rules are. She just went, like, to the toilet break. I don’t know like what happened, how many minutes she was taking.
“Honestly at some point I was so bored. I went like I thought she was coming. Then I was like moving, moving, she’s not there. Again moving, she’s not there. I was kind of getting bored.
“Then I was just super excited about the third set, that I was playing so well. I was just give it a roll. I was not rushing on purpose. Honestly, I think every time I’m playing my service game, I’m not taking much time. I never go for a towel or anything. I’m just going.
Having won a grass title in Birmingham before heading to Wimbledon where she defeated Angelique Kerber and Katerina Siniakova before facing Swiatek, Putintseva is in strong form and admitted that beating the world No.1 meant more on the big stage.
“I mean, it’s good,” she added. “It’s great. It means a lot. Honestly, I think I deserve it because all the year I’ve been playing well. I’ve been unlucky with some matches that I lost very, very close.
“But today I was, like, really focused and was, like, Okay, this time I’m going to take it. I’m very proud of myself that I stepped in and I did it.”
The pair have had their run-ins previously, with Swiatek unhappy with Putintseva during their Indian Wells clash this year as she continued to move from side to side when the Polish star was preparing to serve.
And she explained that there is no relationship with Swiatek, who is claimed to largely keep to her own team while on tour. “No, I don’t know her,” Putintseva explained. “I mean, I don’t know. She never, at least what I see, she always like in her zone with her team. She don’t talk much to anyone. I mean, I’m not entering that bubble.
