Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic says she’s “frustrated” by the decision not to award rankings points for Wimbledon, a call that could cost her a seeding at her home grand slam.
Tomljanovic has been beaten in the quarter finals at the US Open, going down 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) to fifth seed Ons Jabeur, who is the first-ever African woman to make the US Open semi finals.
The loss means Tomljanovic leaves New York with her ranking at a career-high 34, just outside the 32 players who will be seeded at the Australian Open.
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Had she received rankings points for her quarter final run at Wimbledon she’d be around 25 in the world.
Wimbledon had its rankings points stripped after the All England Club banned Russian and Belarusian players from the tournament.
Despite making consecutive quarter finals, Tomljanovic could hardly contain her frustration.
“It feels like one (grand slam) quarter final because the other one doesn’t count, so it’s like I’m in a position that sucks right now,” she said.
“I’m still fighting to be top 30, and, I mean, I don’t even know what I’m playing next. I don’t even know what there is to play.
“I just know that I’m not the player to chase points. My body is not up for flying tomorrow and then playing on Monday. I don’t even know if I can do that. I don’t know if I want to do that.
“But, at the same time, I want to be in that group of players where I deserve to be.
“So just really frustrated at the moment with that – but I’m mad that I am frustrated with it because it’s out of my control.
“But it’s still very frustrating.
Tomljanovic was left to rue nine double faults in her loss to Jabeur.
The crafty Tunisian almost cost herself the second set after a “bad mood” left her in a tough spot, down 3-5, with even the commentary team saying “the fans are turning against Jabeur” after she threw her racquet to the court in frustration a couple of times.
“I think I’m going to be fired from my job as minister of happiness,” she said during her on court interview.
“It is tough to manage, sometimes the frustration, tennis is a tough sport I apologise for my behaviour.
“I wanted to keep calm but my racquet kept slipping from my hand!”
The chances were there for the Aussie but Tomljanovic was dogged by unforced errors and couldn’t score the crucial points despite showing immense fighting spirit to have a chance.
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Jabeur and Tomljanovic are close friends and exchanged a lengthy hug at the net following the match.
The 26-year-old Jabeur now qualifies for a last-four clash with Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia.
In the men’s draw, in-form fifth seed Casper Ruud pushed past Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (6-4) to reach the US Open semi-final with a shot at the world No.1 ranking still on the line.
The French Open runner-up beat Berrettini on clay in July’s Gstaad final and looked just as effective on the hard court, hanging back behind the baseline to absorb the 13th seed’s power.
– With AP.
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