Caroline Wozniacki and Monica Niculescu in Qatar Open grunting dispute
Friday 16 February 2018 15:04, UK
Monica Niculescu has claimed Caroline Wozniacki has given herself "too much importance" after the pair were embroiled in a dispute over grunting during their third-round clash at the Qatar Open.
Niculescu was making a noise during the ninth game of the first set, something the world No.1 Wozniacki protested to the umpire about.
Wozniacki was heard saying Niculescu's disruptive tactics in putting opponents off was the only strategy she could have used to win the match.
The 27-year-old Dane triumphed over the Romanian 7-5 6-1, nevertheless, the two-time U.S Open finalist continued to complain about the 17th-ranked doubles player after the match.
In a post-match press conference, Wozniacki said: "She's a player that tries to get into your head.
"I just tried to let him [the umpire] know to pay attention to her grunting because she'll hit the ball and two seconds later when the ball is on my side and I'm right about to hit, she'll start grunting and make a noise, and she'll change the grunt according to what she feels like.
"It's disturbing. It's in the rules that they're not supposed to do that so I was just making sure the umpire was paying attention to that. And she stopped doing that after."
Wozniacki returned to the world rankings summit after her three-set win over Simona Halep last month at the Australian Open.
Niculescu, who defeated Maria Sharapova 4-6 6-4 6-3 earlier in the tournament, rebuffed Wozniacki's continued complaints.
She told Romanian TV channel Digi Sport: "That was very bad from her; I have never heard a number one talk like that. I am really disappointed by what she said and I think she gives herself too much importance."
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