Wimbledon No.1 seed Aryna Sabalenka crashes out after fury at opponent over unwritten rule

Amanda Anisimova took down the Wimbledon favourite Aryna Sabalenka … but not before an epic semi-final took a bitter twist.

After her 6-4 4-6 6-4 victory over the number one seed, Anisimova paid tribute to Sabalenka, calling her “an inspiration.” And the pair hugged warmly at the end of the titanic tussle in a 30-degree heat.

But when Anisimova won the seventh game of the third set with a lucky net cord, she celebrated by punching the air rather than offering the usual gesture of apology. Instead of holding up her racket to say sorry, Anisimova clenched her fist jubilantly and Sabalenka stared her down as the pair made their way to the chairs before the change of ends.

Sabalenka also appeared to mouth something towards her opponent - it looked like she was saying ‘you are supposed to say sorry’ - and was clearly unhappy that Anisimova was revelling in her good fortune. The defeated world number one appeared to have no hard feelings after the American 13th seed booked her place in Saturday’s final - but did express her frustrations in a spiky post-match press conference.

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She said: "I just look at her and, I mean, for sure she didn't hear me. I was like, 'you don't want to say sorry?' She just wanted, I guess, badly to win this match. It's on her. If she doesn't feel like saying sorry, like she barely got that point and she didn't feel like saying sorry for that tricky situation, that's on her."

Anisimova had nothing but kind words for her defeated opponent, saying: “This doesn't feel real right now. Aryna is such a tough competitor. I was dying out there. She's such an incredible competitor, such an inspiration to me and so many other players.

“We had so many tough battles and to come on top today to get into the final at Wimbledon is incredibly special. The atmosphere was special today. I know she's number one but so many were cheering for me so I just want to say a huge 'thank you' to everyone."

The 23-year-old from New Jersey was a big outsider for the clash against the three-times Grand Slam winner but battled her way to her first-ever Grand Slam final.

She went on: “To be honest if you told me I would be in the final of Wimbledon I would not believe you. Especially not this soon. It's been a year's turnaround. So many dream of competing on this court. To be in the final is just indescribable, honestly. It will be an incredible match.”