Japan's Miyu Kato said Monday that she has lodged an appeal to the Grand Slam board against her women's doubles default at the French Open a day earlier for accidentally hitting a ball girl with a ball.
Kato bounced back from the disappointment by reaching the mixed doubles semifinals on Monday with her German partner Tim Puetz, beating the Australian Open-winning pair of Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos of Brazil 7-6(5), 6-2 on the same Court 14 at Roland Garros where she was buoyed by fans calling her name.
"We could play the match to the end, the opponents gave me kind words and it was a bit emotional too, having people come to me to cheer me up," said the 28-year-old after shedding a tear following the win.