What happened between Iga Swiatek and chair umpire Marija Cicak at Cincinnati Open? Everything to know about the drama that unfolded in Pole's QF win

During her quarter-final encounter at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati on Friday, Iga Swiatek had an argument with chair umpire Marija Cicak after the latter called her out for taking too long to get ready for Marketa Vondrousova's serve.

Swiatek booked her place in the semifinals with a 7-6(3), 6-1 win over the Wimbledon champion. The match, however, had its fair share of drama early in the second set.

Vondrousova was ready to serve when Swiatek stopped play due to people moving in the crowd. Chair umpire Marija Cicak told Swiatek that she could not stop the play due to just a few people. Vondrousova eventually went on to serve a double fault.

Cicak also gave Swiatek a time violation on match point when her back was turned to the court. The Pole was far from pleased and argued with Cicak after the match was over.

The Croatian official explained to Swiatek why she had been issued a time violation.

“It is not your time," Cicak said. "You were stood there for another 5-7 to seven seconds for no reason and you can at least turn around."

Swiatek argued that Vondrousova was rushing her but the chair umpire reiterated that it wasn't her serve time.

Iga Swiatek claims Marija Cicak is "really strict with the rules"

Iga Swiatek in action at the Western and Southern Open

Iga Swiatek was asked about her argument with Marija Cicak in her post-match press conference. Swiatek stated that while she had a lot of respect for the chair umpire, she was a little too strict with the rules.

"I respect Marija Cicak, she's a great umpire," she said. "But overall she's really strict with the rules, and she's applying them always, looking at even like one second and everything."

The World No. 1 claimed that Vondrousova was ready to serve when there were still 20 seconds left on the clock. Swiatek added that she told Cicak that she needed a little time to breathe.

"She was always ready when there was still 20 seconds," the Pole said. "I'm using that break to get ready for the next point. Here I didn't really have time, so I wanted to kind of steal a few seconds for myself. I'll be honest with you. I was always ready when it was like 16 or 15 seconds, so I thought it's plenty enough time for Marketa."

"The rule is actually that the time is for her. When she's ready, I have to be ready. Like, she was ready really fast, you know? I mean, I just told Marija Cicak that I'm human, I need to breathe, you know," she added.

Iga Swiatek will next face seventh seed Coco Gauff in the semifinals of the Western and Southern Open on Saturday. The winner will face either Aryna Sabalenka or Karolina Muchova in the final.