"Whatever happened happened, it's been a while": After branding Jelena Ostapenko a liar at Wimbledon, Ajla Tomljanovic set for Australian Open rematch

Alja Tomljanovic recalled the controversy with Jelena Ostapenko at Wimbledon just a day before their encounter in the second round of the 2024 Australian Open. The memorable situation occurred when the Australian secured a victory with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in a tense match where Ostapenko called for medical assistance, and Tomljanovic accused her of faking an injury.

At the end of the match during the net handshake, Ostapenko did not remain silent and, annoyed, confronted Tomljanovic for not believing her injury: "If you think I'm faking it, you can talk with the physio. Your behavior is terrible. You have zero respect." Tomljanovic did not back down and maintained her stance: "You're the one to talk." Ostapenko responded, "What? You're the worst player on tour."

In a press conference, Tomljanovic was asked about the reunion with Ostapenko and whether it could be another similar match: "What happened happened. It's been a while," said the current world No. 271. "I think we played each other once more [at Eastbourne in 2021], and she beat me," she added.

“Look, I have respect for her as a player. What happened, that was just in that moment. I just reacted

'We never spoke about it. We're both going to be competitive, that's for sure. I do think at least from my side I respect her as a tennis player. In that moment, I wasn't happy.”

Alja Tomljanovic also previewed what she expects from the upcoming match against Ostapenko, who recently entered the top 10 after being outside the select group for 5 years. “I'm definitely the underdog. I love that,” Tomljanovic claimed. “But I feel like playing her in the second round, I'm probably going to hopefully play even better than I did today.”

On the other hand, Ostapenko commented that after her first-round match against Kimberly Birrel last Tuesday, she planned to watch the match between Tomljanovic and Petra Martic, but she felt confident regardless of the winner: “I've beaten her a couple of times,” she said. “It's not going to be an easy match, but I will try to focus more on myself and my game,” Ostapenko added.

“I mean, I'm still quite emotional on the court, but I think it's my personality on the court,” former French Open champion stated. “I really am a fighter, and I will never give up, so sometimes I get really mad when I lose those points,” Jelena Ostapenko concluded.