This French Open contest had a bit of everything: Cursing. Cramping. Ill will. A player leaving the court in a wheelchair.
Locked up by what she called a “total body cramp,” Kiki Bertens had to use a wheelchair to leave Court 14 at Roland Garros after saving a match point and collapsing to her back on the clay at the end of a 7-6 (5), 3-6, 9-7 second-round victory over Italy’s Sara Errani on Wednesday.
Bertens said she was treated for cramping in her left leg, right foot and both hands during and after the match -- but 2012 French Open runner-up Errani wasn’t buying it.
Errani, who swore in Italian as she walked off the court, accused her fifth-seeded Dutch opponent of faking the pain.
“If she wins, she wins,” Errani said, “but do it without all this acting.”
She thought Bertens looked absolutely fine in the locker room and players’ restaurant an hour after the match.
“Maybe it was magic,” Errani said sarcastically. “It was probably magic tricks. When she was running during the match, it didn’t seem like she had any problem.”
Bertens said she was in the treatment room for 45 minutes after the match and didn’t stop cramping for half an hour.
“Maybe (Errani) should have been in there,” Bertens said, “and then she should have seen what happened.”
Errani struggled with her ball toss, double-faulted 14 times and often resorted to underhand serves.
She served for the match at 6-5 in the third but couldn’t close it out; Bertens saved a match point in that game with a cross-court forehand winner.
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