Yulia Putintseva twerk celebration, disrespectful crowd comments, defeats Zeynep Sonmez

Yulia Putintseva has slammed the "disrespectful" behaviour of the Turkish crowd at Kia Arena on Friday, after outlasting qualifier Zeynep Sonmez in a three-set thriller.

Despite securing a hard-fought 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3 victory, Putintseva was frustrated by a vocal, partisan atmosphere that she claimed crossed the line.

Having battled the hostile crowd for over two-and-a-half hours, Putintseva punctuated her win with a defiant celebration, cupping a hand to her ear before twerking in the direction of the stands.

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However, the fans continued to target the world No.94 during her on-court interview, prompting a sharp retort from Putintseva, who refused to be silenced by the chorus of boos.

The unfriendly atmosphere was noted by commentator Liz Smylie, who labelled the scene "unnecessary" as Putintseva danced.

In her post-match interview, Putintseva accused the Turkish crowd of deliberate gamesmanship, alleging that supporters screamed between her first and second serves to rattle her.

The chair umpire, on several occasions, told the crowd not to do so.

Putintseva also questioned the "education" of fans, suggesting that while cheering for a favourite is great for the sport, the Turkish crowd lacked a fundamental understanding of tennis etiquette.

"The crowd is always in favour of someone and has someone to cheer for, and that's what is great about the sport, but today was really a lot of disrespectful moments," she said.

"There was a lot of screaming between my first and second serve, and screaming really loud, just to make me make a mistake.

"In the game, I think it was [at] 4-3, it was a big point, and I opened the court very good, and I took my forehand, and a guy just started coughing just for my shot.

"I was like 'OK, now I'm not going to lose'. I was ready to take it all. I was ready to fight until I die there.

"What can I do? Some people have an education of tennis, and unfortunately, some of them do not."

Throughout the match, the chair umpire was repeatedly compelled to step in, issuing multiple pleas for silence to a crowd that refused to be quieted.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as a polite reminder, we do not whistle as the player is about to serve, thank you," the official said.

Putintseva clarified that she didn't mind the booing after the match was over. However, she took issue with the crowd's behaviour during "important moments" while the ball was in play.

"I don't think they were disrespectful [for booing me after the match]. They were disrespectful when it was important [in the match], and they could see that it was important. and they would start screaming like every time during my shots," she said.

"When she was making great shots, but I was still in the rally. When the ball was coming to my side, they were screaming to my shot, which was honestly distracting, especially in this heat."

Despite the friction, the Kazakh star was able to laugh off the incident, noting her improved composure compared to previous years.

"I'm very happy that I kept my calm because Yulia last year probably throws something at them at some moment," she added with a smile.

Under high-pressure conditions, Putintseva underscored that her victory was as much a win of psychological endurance as it was a physical one.

"[The key to winning] was staying focused and keeping my emotions down because there were too many things going on," she said.

"It's tough already because she's playing an amazing tournament and an amazing match, and the conditions were tough; it was very hot, one side is very windy. It was tough to do."

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