Dutch fifth seed Kiki Bertens was accused of faking injury as she was taken off court in a wheelchair after a stormy Roland Garros second round win over former finalist Sara Errani on Wednesday.
Bertens triumphed 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 9-7 in a three-hour 11-minute clash which left her in cramps and Italian Errani screaming an obscenity.
Errani, the 2012 runner-up, had a match point but was also handed a time violation for taking too long to serve. At one stage, she even served underarm.
The marathon tie featured 24 breaks of serve with 28-year-old Bertens firing 61 winners but committing 63 unforced errors.
For 2016 semi-finalist Bertens, who needed the wheelchair after cramping left her unable to move, it was a first win in six meetings with the Italian.
Errani stormed off court, refusing to ‘racquet tap’ with Bertens before screaming ‘va fanculo’ as she stomped off Court 14 having also appeared to mock her opponent’s injury.
“After one hour, she’s injured but then she’s running around like never before,” said Errani who lost the 2012 final in Paris to Maria Sharapova.
“She leaves the court in a chair and now she’s in the locker room and eating in the restaurant, perfect. She exaggerated.”
“It made me very angry, so well done to her but she can win without doing that.”
Bertens, however, insisted her injury was genuine and that she had cramped in “my left leg, right foot and both hands” during the match.
“At the end I had total body cramps,” said Bertens who has a tour-leading 79 wins on clay in the last four years.
She hit back at Errani who she said had squandered a series of opportunities to wrap up the tie.
“She can say whatever she feels like and if I was (faking) then maybe I should take up acting classes – I am not sure what she was thinking.
“The cramps came and went in the match. I couldn’t even fist pump because my fingers wouldn’t move.”
Bertens said she had spent 45 minutes in the physio room after the match and only stopped cramping after 30 minutes of treatment.
“She should have been in there. It’s not nice to hear what she said, I don’t want to take it personally, she was just frustrated with herself.”
The Dutchwoman said she had never experienced being escorted off a court in a wheelchair until Wednesday although she did once try out the experience of playing in a wheelchair.
“I wanted to walk off the court today, but the physio said ‘no, you have to sit down’ so I didn’t have a choice.”