Jo Konta moaned to the umpire about rival Dominika Cibulkova slapping her thighs — claiming it was distracting her between first and second serves.
Cibulkova, who won 6-3, 6-4, insisted she had done nothing wrong after confirming the Brit had made a complaint.
“Jo complained to the umpire about me slapping my leg when waiting to receive, but I have been doing that my whole career and I see no reason to stop now,” the Slovakian said. “And that is what I told the umpire. That is the first time anyone has ever complained about it.”
“She’s very intense. She was slapping her thigh,” said Konta, 27. “It was like a clapping. I just asked the umpire if it would be the same — is it the same if someone else from externally in the crowd would clap in between first and second serves.
“That was more what was bothering me. The umpire had a word with her and she stopped. She doesn’t do it in a malicious way. She does it to pump herself up. It was nothing more than that.”
Both women played down the significance of world No. 32 Cibulkova, 29, being pushed out of the seedings to make way for the return of Serena Williams.
If the All England Club hadn’t made that decision, Konta could not possibly have played Cibulkova in the second round.
Cibulkova, who last week said Wimbledon’s decision was “unfair,” added: “What can I say about not being seeded. It wasn’t what I was thinking about before the match. But yes, right now, I have won and proved I am a good player and able to beat Konta at home.
“It’s always tough to have a tough match like that. However, there’s a lot of players who aren’t on the seeding list who are equally tough to play. I wouldn’t say it’s tougher because she would have been seeded. I think it’s just tough because she’s a great player.”