Greg Rusedski was left confused after the women’s doubles final in Madrid saw no speeches from the winners or runners-up. Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia upset top seeds Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff to win their first title together 6-1 6-4. And the British pundit claimed it was “bizarre” as neither pair gave a speech or a TV interview as promised.
There was an unusual end to the women’s doubles final at the Madrid Open as neither team gave a speech during the trophy presentation, or took part in an interview for TV. The Prime commentary team were left baffled as none of the players took to the microphone after the match and were under the impression that they would still interview Azarenka and Haddad Maia.
But when the winning pair left the court alongside Pegula and Gauff, Rusedski was left flabbergasted as he claimed something must have gone amiss. “So the runners-up have received their trophies, the winners have received their trophies. We don’t seem to be getting speeches,” Catherine Whitaker first remarked.
“Well hopefully Catherine we’ll get to listen to them and they’ll come into our little studio here in the corner, fingers crossed,” Rusedski responded, before voicing his confusion. “I’ve never seen that in a finals in doubles where neither team has spoken,” he started.
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“That is the most bizarre situation. I can’t remember this happening,” he added. And the former world No 4 was even more baffled when Azarenka and Haddad Maia vacated the court alongside Gauff and Pegula after believing they would join Prime for an interview.
Rusedski continued: “I don’t want to do an impersonation but where is the person from the WTA that interviews them after the match? That’s usually the normal procedure here so something has obviously gone awry, this doesn’t make any sense.”
Co-punit Daniela Hantuchova offered an explanation as she questioned whether all four players were rushing to get to Rome for the next WTA 1000 event, with the draw taking place later on Sunday and play beginning on Tuesday.
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“To me it seems like they’re rushing off to the airport trying to catch the latest flight to Rome, that could be the only explanation. It is very, very strange,” the former world No 5 remarked.
During the match analysis, Rusedski echoed Hantuchova’s claim as he said: “Maybe they went off the court quickly because they had a quick flight to catch to Rome as you said.”
Azarenka had previously found herself called out by Madrid Open tournament director Feliciano Lopez when she reposted a picture comparing the difference of size in the birthday cakes Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka received on Friday. The Spaniard had a huge two-tier dessert while the WTA world No 2 had a smaller one, but Lopez hit back at her claims that it reflected the “treatment” at the event.
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