Talk about awkward.
Sixth seed Maria Sakkari has been left bemused by a journalist’s bizarre mix up in her post-win press conference at the Australian Open on Wednesday.
The Greek star fronted the media after her three-set win over Diana Shnaider but was puzzled when asked about apparent violence towards her coach Tom Hill on Netflix’s Break Point.
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“The Netflix show – you said something about doing something to poor Tom’s neck?” the journalist asked.
Sakkari, looking completely confused, then replied: “Neck? No!”
“You didn’t say, I thought it was like… I’m going to break your neck. What,” the journalist replies.
“Racquet. I’m going to break the racquet,” Sakkari responds.
“Oh break the racquet? Ok. I misheard you!” the man then adds.
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Sakkari then could only laugh as she quickly corrected the journalist.
“Do you think I’m that violent that I would break my coach’s neck? (laughs)” she said.
“No, no, the racquet.
“I’m a nice person, trust me!
“I think it was tough to hear and tough to understand what I said, but I said for sure the racquet. I’m not that aggressive with anyone around me.”
Sakkari’s bizarre press conference came after the 27-year-old survived a massive scare in the second round.
Tensions nearly boiled over on Margaret Court Arena as Sakkari clashed with 18-year-old qualifier Diana Shnaider at 5-4 in the second set.
Sakkari later explained her big response to Shnaider’s antics, saying she felt the teen’s reactions were “not appropriate”.
