‘I was ready to fight until I die’: Putintseva dances her way past 'disrespectful' Turkish fans

Yulia Putintseva is through to the second week of the Australian Open for the first time, after a 6-3 6-7(3) 6-3 victory over Turkey’s Zeynep Sönmez, in a clash filled with drama.

After overcoming a strong Brazilian crowd in round one, Putintseva faced a tougher test on Friday at Melbourne Park, up against a loud set of – in her words – “disrespectful” Turkish fans.

"Today, there was really a lot of disrespectful moments", Putintseva told a small media pack post-match.

"They were screaming between my first and second serve, like really loud, like, just to make me mistake.

The Russian-born Kazakh let a one-set lead slip and allowed the sea of red inside Kia Arena to reach full voice as the match headed into a third.

"In the game at 4-3 (in the decider), it was a big point, I take my forehand, the guy just started, like, coughing just for my shot.

"I was like, okay, now, I'm not going to lose. I was ready to take it all, I was ready to fight until I die there," she said in a deadly serious tone.

"I mean, what can I do? It's just some people have education of tennis and, unfortunately, some of them are not", she added.

The 31-year-old further revealed that she had a unique method to cope with the raucous fans - one that drew inspiration from her childhood.

"It's kind of funny, but I was singing a song. It's a Russian song...very old-school, from old, old movies. The song is about rabbits. It has nothing to do with anything. It's just about rabbits who eat the grass. I was like distracting myself with this," she shared.

"I last watched it when I was 14. I don't know why it came out, this song about the rabbits, and about the unfortunate island.

"I was just singing this song in my head. Usually I'm like Taylor Swift, or The Weeknd, and here it comes like a rabbit song. I don't know why."

But the strange approach worked a treat, as Putintseva successfully sealed her spot in the last sixteen, before enjoying her moment post-match with the crowd.

The Kazakh pointed her finger to her ear for a good thirty seconds, as a chorus of boos rang around the arena.

She then proceeded to dance along to the crowd's jeering, which only further spurred on the boisterous Turkish support.

"Dancing was just in the end because I was too tired, and the guys were whistling. I mean, what can you do? You just have to dance through it."

The fans then continued to make noise through Putintseva's on-court interview - which could not be heard at all inside the court - before the Kazakh smiled her way out of the arena and into the tunnel.

She will face a different test against either Iva Jovic or Jasmine Paolini on Sunday at Melbourne Park.

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