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Cibulkova slams Wimbledon officials over call row

London - Dominika Cibulkova launched a scathing attack on Wimbledon's officials after a line call controversy marred her 6-4, 6-1 rout of Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei on Monday.

Cibulkova was furious when Hsieh successfully persuaded the umpire to replay a point that was initially called in the Slovakian's favour and would have given her three set points in the opening set.

Hsieh's protests to the umpire prompted the match referee to come on court to intervene as the argument lasted almost seven minutes before the point was finally replayed, much to Cibulkova's disgust.

The 29-year-old challenged her anger to secure a fourth round win over Hsieh - who had shocked world number one Simona Halep in the previous round.

"It was ridiculous what happened there. It never happened to me in my career," Cibulkova fumed.

"Sometimes I'm also complaining because I think it was a wrong call. But it never happened to me that the umpire changed the decision.

"It was really ridiculous for me. I think it was a really bad decision from the supervisor and from the umpire.

"They changed their mind. The umpire told me she don't remember what happened after the ball. Is it my fault you don't remember if she hit the net or if she put it on my side?

"It doesn't matter. The call was after when she played the ball. She made a decision.

"After she was complaining, they were talking in Chinese, whatever language.

"It really messed with me, then I tried to just calm down, to play my game."

Asked if she had any sympathy for Hsieh, as replays suggested the Taiwan player deserved to have the point replayed, Cibulkova said: "No. This happened to me so many times.

"I had exactly the same point, and the point was given to the other player.

"I had no sympathy because it's just about the chair umpire.

"I'm a fair player. When I feel like this is something that should not happen, I would maybe have sympathy with her."

Cibulkova is ranked 33rd in the world and controversially missed out on being seeded at Wimbledon when tournament officially moved up seven-time champion Serena Williams into the seedings despite the American being ranked outside the top 150 following her maternity leave.

Although Cibulkova complained about the decision, the former Australian Open finalist has refocused well enough to make her third Wimbledon quarter-final.

She faces Latvian 12th seed Jelena Ostapenko, a former French Open champion, for a place in the semi-finals.

Wimbledon results on Monday, the seventh day of the 2018 championships (x denotes seeded player):

Men

Fourth round

Roger Federer (SUI x1) bt Adrian Mannarino (FRA x22) 6-0, 7-5, 6-4

Kevin Anderson (RSA x8) bt Gael Monfils (FRA) 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2), 5-7, 7-6 (7/4)

Milos Raonic (CAN x13) bt Mackenzie McDonald (USA) 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2

John Isner (USA x9) bt Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE x31) 6-4, 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (7/4)

Novak Djokovic (SRB x12) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS) 6-4, 6-2, 6-2

Kei Nishikori (JPN x24) bt Ernests Gulbis (LAT) 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (12/10), 6-1

Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) bt Jiri Vesely (CZE) 6-3, 6-3, 6-4

Suspended due to darkness:

Juan Martin del Potro (ARG x5) leads Gilles Simon (FRA) 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7.5), 5-7

Women

Fourth round

Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) bt Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE) 6-4, 6-1

Jelena Ostapenko (LAT x12) bt Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) 7-6 (7/4), 6-0

Daria Kasatkina (RUS x14) bt Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 6-2

Angelique Kerber (GER x11) bt Belinda Bencic (SUI) 6-3, 7-6 (7/5)

Kiki Bertens (NED x20) bt Karolina Pliskova (CZE x7) 6-3, 7-6 (7/1)

Julia Goerges (GER x13) bt Donna Vekic (CRO) 6-3, 6-2

Serena Williams (USA x25) bt Evgeniya Rodina (RUS) 6-2, 6-2

Camila Giorgi (ITA) bt Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 6-3, 6-4

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