31 May 2009

Williams makes cheat claim at French Open

12:57 pm on 31 May 2009

Second seed Serena Williams has accused her Spanish opponent of cheating on a controversial point in a 4-6 6-3 6-4 third round defeat of Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez at the French Open.

Martinez Sanchez bagged an ill-tempered opening set after breaking in the fifth game with a controversial shot which appeared to have bounced off her arm.

"The rules of tennis are when the ball hits your body, then it's out of play. You lose a point automatically. So the ball hit her body, and therefore, she should have lost the point instead of cheating," Williams said

"I hit that ball rather hard. She knew that ball hit her," she added.

Williams asked the umpire to ask Martinez Sanchez if the ball had hit her arm or her racket.

Martinez Sanchez said the ball did not touch her body.

Williams plays Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak next.