Coco Gauff upset with the umpire in her match against Siegemund: “She’s never ready when I’m serving. She went over the clock 4 times. You gave her a time violation once. How is this fair? You’re calling the score like 6 seconds after the point is over”
(VIDEO) "The frustration was bottling": Gauff reflects on clash with chair umpire in first round of US Open
Tennis NewsTuesday, 29 August 2023 at 10:44
Coco Gauff has reflected on her clash with the chair umpire during the first round of the US Open, saying she does not regret confronting the umpire over issues regarding her opponent Laura Siegemund.
World No. 6 Gauff took to the main court at the US Open on Monday, August 28, taking on Siegemund in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The players had only faced each other once before, with Siegemund leading their head-to-head 1-0.
However, Gauff had the advantage of a home crowd on her side and momentum from a hugely successful season on the WTA Tour's North American swing, having won both the DC Open and Cincinnati Open. Although the American got off to a slightly shaky start, losing the first set, she came back to secure the match 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Gauff confronts umpire over time violations
However, the match was not without its fair share of drama, as both players confronted the chair umpire at different points in the match to complain about time-related issues.
Siegemund was first, voicing her frustration during her service game in the second set as she complained that Gauff was playing 'unreasonably fast,' saying she needed more time between points.
"Her last service game, I never went to the towel.. she’s playing almost unreasonably fast. I’m always there," the German player said.
While Gauff did not get involved in this argument, her own frustrations boiled over when Siegemund kept delaying the 19-year-old's serve. This led Gauff to confront the chair umpire about the fact that Siegemund was not receiving any time violations when she was blatantly going over the clock.
"She’s never ready when I’m serving. She went over the clock 4 times. You gave her a time violation once. How is this fair? You’re calling the score like 6 seconds after the point is over," she said.
Gauff has no regrets over clash
Speaking after the match, Gauff reflected on the confrontation.
"I was really patient the whole match. She [Siegemund] was going over the time since the first set. I never said anything. I would look at the umpire, and she didn't do anything.
"But then it got to the point where she was doing it a lot on my serve. I was being nice. My team told me I should have spoke up earlier," she said.
Following the clash, Siegemund finally received a time violation, giving Gauff a significant game point.
"I think the pressure worked. Obviously, she gave those time violations after that. I was finally happy when the time violation came," she added.
Gauff then said that if she could do the match over again, she would have said something earlier, but ultimately stressed that she didn't regret anything as she knew she was in the right.
"I wasn't sure if I was in the right or not until it happened multiple times. Then I was like, ‘Okay, I know I'm in the right.
"The frustration was bottling, to be honest. I think honestly if I could do it all over again, I would have said something earlier, maybe on a changeover, not so much like when I was serving. Other than that, I don't regret talking to the ref the way I did," she said.
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