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LONDON: Portuguese scream queen Michelle Larcher de Brito insists the controversy over her screeching won't distract her from making a big noise at Wimbledon.
Larcher de Brito had to endure a barrage of questions over her habit of making a high-pitched wailing noise during rallies after marking her All England Club debut with a 6-2, 7-5 first round victory over Klara Zakopalova on Monday.
The 16-year-old was under the microscope after causing a major storm at this year's French Open when she screamed and grunted so loudly that she was booed off court after her opponent Aravane Rezai complained to the umpire.
Larcher de Brito was immediately compared to notorious grunters Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova, with the International Tennis Federation responding by threatening to create a "noise hindrance" rule.
She was relatively subdued on her first appearance at usually tranquil Wimbledon because Zakopalova never offered the kind of sustained challenge that brings the screams to the fore.
That didn't stop the media giving her a gruelling post-match grilling.
But Larcher de Brito stood firm and emphasised that all the fuss wouldn't stop her focusing on victory over Italy's Francesca Schiavone, the world number 43, in the second round.
"Everybody just told me, 'just play your game', and that's what I'm doing," Larcher de Brito said.
"If it has inconvenienced the other player, there's nothing I can really do about it because I don't really want to change anything.
"I'm starting to do well. I'm in the top hundred, and I don't want to change anything because things are starting to fall into place a little bit now.
"I don't want it to affect my mind or my tennis and I don't want anything to get into my head. I'm starting to get confidence. I don't want that to get ruined because of something a bit ridiculous."
Sterner tests lie in wait and Larcher de Brito, still bristling from what she felt was a harsh reaction in Paris, insisted she has no intention of making a special effort to tone down the noise.
"Definitely if the matches are going to be tougher obviously I'm going to start grunting," Larcher de Brito said. "I'm just here for myself. I'm not here really to be quiet for anybody.
"I'm here to win. If people don't like my grunting they can always leave.
"The grunt goes through my intensity. It's just something I've done at a very young age. And it is my mind, my body. If my body feels like it needs to grunt more, it grunts. If not, it stays quiet.
"Nobody can tell me to stop grunting. Tennis is an individual sport and I'm an individual player. If they have to fine me, go ahead, because I'd rather get fined than lose a match because I had to stop grunting."
- AFP/yt
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