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Donna Vekic refused to shake hands with Lesia Tsurenko following their Indian Wells match. Vekic, seeded at No 29, had a first-round bye in Indian Wells. On Friday, Vekic kicked off her Indian Wells campaign from the second round as Tsurenko recovered from a set down to beat the Croatian 2-6 6-2 6-2.
After the match, Vekic went straight to her bench while Tsurenko looked the Croatian's way, seemingly wanting a handshake.
Donna didn't want to shake hands with Tsurenko, I mean I would've done the same but?? 👽 pic.twitter.com/XJ4lrtWYCg — LorenaPopa 🕵️♀️🎾 (@popalorena) March 10, 2023
Why Vekic didn't want to shake Tsurenko's hand?
In late February, Vekic and Tsurenko clashed in the Monterrey first round.
Back then, Vekic was down by a set but had a 5-0 lead in the second set when Tsurenko retired. Apparently, Tsurenko was again acting injured on the court but this time finished the match and managed to win.
I guess it’s what you get for acting like you are about to retire after every points and slow the game.
Lesia is doing it for years… someone had to show how to behave.https://t.co/GoAs5fwzPr — Team Vekic (@Team_Vekic) March 10, 2023
Going into the match, Vekic was the favorite to beat Tsurenko, considering her start to the 2023 season.I agree with that what Lesia did is dirty tactics and she did it many times. And that influence Vekic game 100% because she is human and has feelings.
In my opinion she should be professional and never look at the opponent status and just go for your game. Lots love Donna ❤️❤️🌹 — 🇺🇦Mike Saeed🇺🇦 (@MaherSaeed75) March 11, 2023
In the first set, Vekic got broken in the first game before responding with three breaks on her own to win the opener. After losing the first set, Tsurenko bounced back in the second set as she broke Vekic twice to send the match into a decider.
In the third set, Vekic had an early 2-0 lead before Tsurenko won the next six games to complete her comeback win. For Vekic, it was a disappointing Indian Wells campaign. Just a couple of days earlier, Vekic defeated Caroline Garcia in a thriller Monterrey final to lift her first title of the year.
"It's been a great start of the year for me. If the title didn’t come now, I believe that it would have come soon. So I’ve been playing good tennis, and I just need to keep working hard and hopefully stay healthy, and I’m sure I will keep having good results," Vekic said after winning Monterrey. Vekic will now turn her focus on Miami.