Despite experiencing a great deal of annoyance, Coco Gauff defeated Laura Siegemund in the US Open 2023’s opening match and won in three tight sets. The umpire and spectators could feel Gauff’s annoyance as she complained frequently about Siegemund’s serve-timing strategy during the match, which went beyond the bounds of standard tennis sportsmanship.
Coco Gauff commented after the match on confronting the umpire in Siegemund match at the US Open: “If I could do it all over again, I would’ve said something earlier, maybe on a changeover.. other than that I don’t regret talking to the ref the way I did. I actually watched the video when I was taking an ice bath bc I wanted to make sure before I came in here. Sometimes you have these emotions & you forget what you said. I’d still say everything I said at that moment again”(H/T Twitter)
As the third set of the match drew near, Siegemund began to stretch the limits of the serve clock time, occasionally not being ready to receive Coco Gauff’s service even when the sixth-seeded American was ready to begin her stroke. After many delayed serve attempts, the chair umpire issued a warning to Siegemund for time-wasting, to the audience’s resounding acclaim.
The frustration increased as time went on. Due to time wastage in the third set, Siegemund was penalized. She objected to the chair umpire, but the audience showed little sympathy for her and plainly supported Gauff. Despite the difficult environment outside the court, Gauff won with a score of 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. The heated game took a remarkable two hours and fifty minutes to complete. Despite the difficulty of the battle, Coco Gauff maintained her calm and won despite the odds.
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Coco Gauff comments and is set to face Mirra Andreeva in the 2023 US Open 2nd round
Laura Siegemund was ultimately given a time violation for her continual delays after Coco Gauff argued with the chair umpire, and Gauff was given a crucial game point.
“I believe the pressure was effective. After that, she undoubtedly issued those time violations, the American stated. I was at last content when the time violation occurred. She was sitting down in a scenario after the lengthy game in the first set. I warned the referee that it was against the rules for her to sit down,” she remembered.
Coco Gauff defended her position and insisted that she had the right to speak out. She merely regretted waiting so long to express her disdain. “Until it occurred more than once, I wasn’t sure whether I was in the right. The Cincinnati Open victor admitted. I was like, ‘Okay, I know I’m in the right,’ at that point. To be honest, I was starting to get frustrated. If I could go back in time, I honestly believe that I would have spoken up sooner—possibly at a changeover—and less while I was serving. The rest of the time, I don’t regret how I spoke to the referee.”
With a set and 2-0 deficit against Australian Olivia Gadecki in the first round of the US Open, Mirra Andreeva appeared to be on the subway of hardship. Her next station appeared to be a discouraging and early exit from Flushing Meadows. She just made the decision to skip that stop. Andreeva beat Gadecki 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in an evening encounter on Court 8 to advance to the second round after a difficult early start.
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