Laura Siegemund cries in press after Coco Gauff US Open match: “They treated me like I was a bad person.. would I enjoy more if you played a good shot & people would give you the respect you deserve in that moment? Yes. I’m 35. I play for the people..”
Siegemund driven to tears after controversial Gauff tie at US Open, believes crowd was being unfair to her
WTATuesday, 29 August 2023 at 22:30
Laura
Siegemund ended up in tears after losing to Coco Gauff in the US Open and
showed disappointment with the treatment from the crowd.
The
35-year-old tennis player fell in the first round against American Gauff in a
tough match with a score of 6-3, 2-6, 4-6. Despite winning the first set, world
No. 6 bounced back and with strong support from the audience, she overcame the
German player.
In the
third set, a controversy arose that led to the crowd booing after Siegemund
took a long time to be ready for her opponent's serve. The German player
expressed her disappointment with the outcome and the reception from the crowd:
“I am very,
very disappointed with the way the people treated me today,” said Siegemund.
“I am a
fighter, I never did anything against the audience. I stayed calm. I never made
not even a gesture against the audience. And they had no respect for me.
“They had
no respect for the way I played. They have no respect for the player that I am.
They have no respect for tennis, for good tennis. This is something that I have
to say hurts really bad,” the German player added
“There is
no doubt that I am slow. There is no doubt about that. I’m getting time
violations. There is no doubt about that I should be quicker…but at the same
time, it’s how I play. I’m very slow. I do it for me, I don’t do it against the
other one. Clapping when you miss the first serve, those kinds of things, I
have no understanding for it."
“This kind
of behaviour, respectless behaviour to a non-American player I have only
experienced on this court. To treat the opponent like this, it’s no good for
tennis.”
“What do I
play tennis for? I play for the people, I play for the effort. I know there are
fans that appreciate fighting and not giving up and good sport. I think this is
the first time I have cried in a press conference.
“They
treated me bad. They treated me like I was a cheater. Like I was trying sneaky
ways to win this match or something. They treated me like I was a bad person.
But you know there are people who are throwing racquets, who are screaming, who
are like making bad gestures toward the audience. I did not one moment in the
whole match, and there was a lot of tension going on. Not one moment I did
anything.”
“I was just
slow. That’s something in the rules, I get my time violation, that’s fine,” she
added.
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