The German got the better of her 20-year-old Serbian opponent 3-6, 6-2, 8-6, but only after complaining to umpire Mariana Alves about the noise coming from the other side of the net.
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‘It was distracting,’ Lisicki said. ‘You usually hear the sound of the ball, but I couldn’t really hear it because of her grunting. But that’s why we have the rules, the hindrance rule.
‘So that’s what I talked about to the umpire.’
The women’s tour allows umpires to take action, at their discretion, if ‘a player hinders her opponent’, but there was no punishment this time.
Asked how Jovanovski compared with the grunting of Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka - the ridiculously loud world Nos 1 and 2 - Lisicki said: ‘It was completely different, but off-putting as well. Grunting is part of the game, but it shouldn’t be off-putting and be an advantage for the opponent, the one who is doing it.’
Lisicki’s criticism comes as the Women’s Tennis Association reaffirmed plans to stamp out grunting, which has become an increasing problem in the women’s game, with Sharapova and Azarenka among the worst offenders.
The WTA are determined to stamp it out, insisting on Wednesday they are developing a ‘sport-wide plan’ to prevent future players making excessive noise. There are tentative plans to introduce handheld monitors for umpires so they can measure grunts.
‘It’s time for us to drive excessive grunting out of the game for future generations,’ said WTA chairman and chief executive Stacey Allaster.
Current players would not be affected, as it has been determined by sports scientists that to alter their breathing techniques could hinder performance.
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