Sloane Stephens beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the China Open on Sunday, but not before throwing down the gauntlet and proclaiming that she was under attack. Pavlyuchenkova made an attempt to hit Sloane near the net, but the American player volleyed the ball and hit it back and secured the point. Stephens realized what went down and the two engaged in a contentious and heated battle. “That f–king bitch tried to hit me,” Stephens said accusing Pavlyuchenkova of trying to take a swipe at her with an overhead shot during the first round match, the New York Post reports. The three-hour match didn’t sit right with Pavlyuchenkova who tried to debate points after Stephens had won. When Stephens was up 5-2 in the second set, Pavlyuchenkova called to see a trainer after Stephens got the break point. Pavlyuchenkova calling a trainer was very much like throwing a tantrum, especially since it’s unusual for a player to make such a request before the opposing player serves the set. Stephens also had a few choice words for umpire Jenny Zhang about Pavlyuchenkova’s child-like behavior. “That’s the sport we play. Right? Sportsmanship. That’s really important,” Stephens said to the umpire. Stephens and Pavlyuchenkova engaged in a volcanic exchange of words after Stephens won the second set. Enough so that Zhang had to come down from her chair to split the two up. “I’m disrespectful? What’s disrespectful? You called the physio at 5-2. You’re not even injured,” Stephens said to Pavlyuchenkova. “How do you know I’m not injured?” Pavlyuchenkova clapped back. READ MORE: Journalist Jemele Hill lands exciting new gig and Twitter rejoices Stephens ultimately won the match in three sets, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4. On Tuesday she will play against Zheng Saisai. Double Standard? This is a loud reminder of the on-court abuse Black women like Stephens and Serena Williams face when they rein at the top of their game. While surely, we won’t see headlines condemning Pavlyuchenkova’s baby-like behavior, Williams grabbed headlines for heated exchange with Umpire Carlos Ramos’ at the US Open, Ramos accused Williams of cheating and invoked three code violations against her which cost her the game. During the exchanges, Williams called Ramos that he was a “thief,” and that she does not need to cheat to win and she demanded an apology.<doc-sep>Sloane Stephens feuded with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia during the first round of the China Open on Sunday. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) Tennis season is almost over, but players are still in top feuding form. This time, American Sloane Stephens and Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova went at it in the first round of the China Open on Sunday, which ended with Stephens accusing Pavlyuchenkova of trying to hit her during a volley. It began with Pavlyuchenkova. She was down 2-5 in the second set when she called for the trainer to look at her shoulder. That’s not abnormal on its own, but the timing bothered Stephens. She had just won a break point, and she was due to serve. It seemed like the timeout wasn’t just to check Pavlyuchenkova’s shoulder, but to break Stephens’ momentum. Stephens did win the second set, but she was still pretty ticked off at Pavlyuchenkova for calling that timeout. After the second set ended, Stephens approached Pavlyuchenkova at the net and started questioning her about the general sportsmanship of calling for a trainer at that moment. “What’s disrespectful? You called the physio at 5-2. You’re not even injured … Don’t be ridiculous.” Here’s the beef with Sloane and Pavs 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/lQnImgyGE1 — Jada (@JaMuzik) September 30, 2018 Umpire Jenny Zhang had to climb down off her chair and put herself between the two players to stop them from getting closer, but Stephens and Pavlyuchenkova continued jawing at each other and the umpire. The confrontation between rounds eventually ended, but it continued on the court in the third set. Stephens was up 3-0, and it looked like Pavlyuchenkova tried to hit Stephens with a late overhead smash during a volley. Stephens knew what had happened, and you can see her say “f—–g b—h tried to hit me” once she won the point. Yikes. We may not see Stephens and Pavlyuchenkova play each other again in 2018, but get ready for 2019, because we definitely haven’t seen the last of this beef. Story continues H/T: Deadspin – – – – – – Liz Roscher is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter at @lizroscher. More from Yahoo Sports: • Did Aaron Rodgers take a shot at his own head coach? • Terez Paylor: There are no winners in NFL star’s brutal injury scenario • Stunning call helps Gruden get first win since 2008 • Orioles’ $161M man finishes with worst batting average<doc-sep>In the very first round of the China Open on Sunday, a new baby beef was slapped on the grill. Down 2-5 on return in the second set against Sloane Stephens, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova called for the physio to treat her right shoulder. The timing of that request—down two breaks, with the set on the opponent’s racket—was odd. Stephens, who was ready to serve out the second and move on, felt she was being iced. Advertisement It worked, briefly: Stephens saw her serve broken when play resumed. She still took the set 6-4, but was pissed off by her opponent’s sportsmanship. Between the second and third sets, umpire Jenny Zhang had to physically separate the two players. “What’s disrespectful? You called the physio at 5-2. You’re not even injured,” said Stephens, approaching her opponent. “Don’t be ridiculous.” The beef happily survived into the third set, culminating in the best possible outcome: antagonistic, taut tennis. At 3-0, the women played a fantastic point up at the net, all reflexes and residual spite: With her second-to-last stroke, Pavlyuchenkova smacked an overhead right back at Stephens. While playing the ball right into the opponent is a legitimate play in tennis, here, Pavlyuchenkova made an unusual choice with an overhead right at the net and a wide open plain of space in the ad court. Stephens’s take was unmistakable, though: “Fucking bitch tried to hit me!” Stephens won 6-7 (8 ), 6-4, 6-4.<doc-sep>Under the merciless midday sun, Sloane Stephens was in the unenviable position of battling a cold in the midst of the heat. She bent over to catch her breath, yelled out profanities in frustration, and rolled her eyes at her own uncharacteristic mistakes. But for all the obstacles standing in the way of her United States Open title defense, the most challenging proved to be the indomitable woman on the other side of the net. Anastasija Sevastova, the No. 19 seed from Latvia who was seeking her first U.S. Open semifinal berth, withstood the oppressive conditions to defeat the third-seeded Stephens, 6-2, 6-3, in a blazing-hot Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday. Stephens, who captivated the tennis world a year ago with her surprise championship here and a glowing post-victory celebration, acknowledged fighting a bad sinus infection that was compounded by the heat. But she conceded that the better player had won.<doc-sep>
AMERICAN Sloane Stephens accused her opponent of trying to hit her with an overhead shot during a contentious first-round match at the China Open on Sunday. In the third set, it appeared that Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova tried hitting Stevens with an overhead smash near the net. However, Stephens returned the hit and won the point. While returning to the baseline, it appeared that Stephens suspected Pavlyuchenkova’s intent, muttering: “That f–king bitch tried to hit me.” Stephens had reason to think that way since the overhead appeared to be the culmination of heated verbal exchanges. The match in Beijing between the No. 9-seeded Stephens and Pavlyuchenkova lasted nearly three hours. When Stephens led 5-2 in the second set, Pavlyuchenkova called to see a trainer after Stephens had won a break point. Calling questionable time-outs in tennis isn’t new, but doing so before the opponent was set to serve for the set is a bit unusual. The 27-year-old clawed back to 5-4 in the second set before the changeover. That’s when Stephens had some words for umpire Jenny Zhang. “That’s the sport we play. Right? Sportsmanship. That’s really important,” Stephens chimed to the umpire. Here's what happened so far between Sloane Stephens and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Beijing. Neither normally confrontational players. pic.twitter.com/LCfM1Cr1b7 — Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) September 30, 2018 Stephens won the second set, 6-4, but stared down Pavlyuchenkova as she approached her bench, which ignited a war of words between the two, enough fireworks to get Zhang to come down to split the pair up. “I’m disrespectful? What’s disrespectful? You called the physio at 5-2. You’re not even injured,” Stephens said to Pavlyuchenkova. “How do you know I’m not injured?” Pavlyuchenkova clapped back. Stephens won the match in three sets, 6-7 (10), 6-4, 6-4. She will face Zheng Saisai next. Get ready for cricket like never before. FREE Sport HD + Entertainment until the first 4K cricket ball as part of 2 months free on a 12 month plan. SIGN UP TODAY. T&Cs apply. This article originally appeared in The New York Post