British Queen’s star gets new opponent hours before match as fuming champ benefits

Queen’s has been forced into a late reschedule afte fifth-seed Marta Kostyk withdrew just hours before she was due to play. The Ukrainian had been drawn against British wildcard Mika Stojsavljevic, but opted not to play after because of a right ankle injury, with lucky loser Donna Vekic replacing her.

Instead, Stojsavljevic and Vekic have been moved to Court 1, while defending champion Tatjana Maria’s match with Maria Sakkari has been upgraded to the main court.

Maria had been livid with the tournament for not awarding her a wildcard to compete, despite winning the event just a year ago. She had to enter qualifying to reach this stage.

“It didn’t feel [different to last year]. It feels almost like a normal tournament because I had to start over again in qualifying,” Maria, an honorary life member at the club, said.

“Already what I did last year was amazing and to be a champion here, I thought I deserved a wildcard and to get a little bit of respect.”

She added: “I did it last year. It was not five years ago. I was surprised when I got the message of [tournament director] Laura Robson saying all the wildcards would go to the British players, which I understand. But as a champion, it’s tough for me.

“It is something that should be normal. If you are champion of an event and you don’t get in the year after, I think automatically this should be considered.”

Four lower-ranked Brits were given wildcards, while Maria had to play two matches on Sunday to qualify.