23 January,2015 08:34 AM IST | | A Correspondent
Aussie TV presenter Ian Cohen slammed for asking Canadian tennis player to turn & show her outfit following her win against Kiki Bertens 6-0, 6-3 at the Australian Open 2015 edition
Canada's Eugenie Bouchard Australian open
The world's top tennis stars have gone in for some bright neon colours at this year's Australian Open, with almost every player from Rafael Nadal to Roger Federer, and Maria Sharapova to Serena Williams shining in pink or green.
Canada's Eugenie Bouchard returns to Netherlands' Kiki Bertens during their Australian open women's singles tie in Melbourne yesterday. Pic/AFP
Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis dazzled the crowds on Day One in his blazing outfit However, yesterday Canadian World No 7, Eugenie Bouchard faced a rather embarrassing situation due to her fluorescent outfit. Bouchard beat Kiki Bertens 6-0, 6-3, but was made quite uncomfortable by a question posed by Australian TV presenter Ian Cohen.
"Can you give us a twirl and tell us about your outfit," Cohen asked Bouchard. Surprised, confused The Twenty-year-old Wimbledon runner-up, surprised and confused with the question, asked Cohen if he actually wanted her to turn around, and he said, "A twirl, a pirouette, here we go."
Bouchard reluctantly did it immediately holding her face in embarrassment even as the crowd cheered her on. Bouchard had worn a fluorescent pink outfit with a flare skirt under which she sported neon green underpants.
Earlier, Serena Williams had unveiled a new backless outfit and was asked to do the twirl which she reluctantly obliged to. Yesterday, Cohen's question immediately gave rise to a sexism row across the globe with fans across social media slamming the veteran commentator for his question. Some felt Cohen was sexist, while others asked if he'd ever ask a similar question to a male player.
Bouchard too later admitted that she felt the question quite odd. "It was very unexpected. I mean, yeah, I don't know. An old guy asking you to twirl, it was funny," she said.
Channel clarifies
Channel Seven, the official domestic broadcasters of the tournament, distanced itself from the controversial interview claiming that Cohen was not on their commentary team.
