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WATCH: Gavrilova loses it in over umpire's decision

ByNina Pantic

Published Jan 18, 2018

MELBOURNE — Australian favorite Daria Gavrilova had a difficult evening last night, thanks in part to her opponent Elise Mertens, the umpire and the schedule.

After starting the match at a record-late hour of 11:59 p.m., Gavrilova raced to a 5-0 lead. She'd drop the next seven games, and things would get worse quickly in the second.

At 4-2 for Mertens, Gavrilova hit a forehand inside-out that Mertens barely got a racquet on. The ball was called out, and Gavrilova challenged within three seconds. The umpire, Aurelie Tourte, refused to accept the challenge, feeling that the 23-year-old was looking to her coach for advice before she raised her arm.

Gavrilova promptly lost her cool: "I'm challenging the ball, I said it straight away. I challenged the ball. There is no freaking way you can't call it a challenge. I did not even look that way, I was looking at the screen. Anyway, I challenged it straight away! No! There's no way!"

Later, Gavrilova asked her Twitter followers what they thought, and the response was mostly on her side—not that it mattered anymore.

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Gavrilova explained the incident after the 7-5, 6-3 loss:

"She said because my coach, that my coach told me to," she said. "He did go like that (putting finger up). That could have meant anything. Usually that means out. Normally when you're told to challenge the ball, the coach would probably go like that (palms down)."

Even press didn't quite go Gavrilova's way:

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The good news for both player and reporter is that there's always another match just around the corner. Meanwhile, Mertens is into the third round of a Slam for the second time in her career. This is the 22-year-old's Australian Open debut.

Read Joel Drucker and Nina Pantic on TENNIS.com as they report from the Australian Open, and watch them each day on The Daily Mix:

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