U.S.’ Coco Gauff talks with an official throughout her match in opposition to Croatia’ s Donna Vekic throughout the girls’s singles match on the Paris Olympics 2024, on July 30, 2024.
| Picture Credit score: Reuters
Coco Gauff was left in tears after entering into an prolonged argument with the chair umpire over a ruling throughout the reigning U.S. Open champion’s 7-6 (7), 6-2 loss to Donna Vekic of Croatia in a Paris Olympics third-round singles match on July 30.
Gauff, a 20-year-old American, already was trailing by quite a bit when the episode occurred two video games from the tip of the match.
Gauff hit a serve and Vekic’s return landed close to the baseline. A line decide initially known as Vekic’s shot out; Gauff didn’t hold the ball in play. Chair umpire Jaume Campistol thought Vekic’s shot landed in and awarded her the purpose, giving her a service break and a 4-2 lead.
Gauff walked over to speak to the official and play was delayed for a number of minutes.
“I by no means argue these calls. However he known as it out earlier than I hit the ball,” Gauff mentioned to Campistol. “It’s not even a notion; it is the foundations. I at all times should advocate for myself.”
Gauff, a 20-year-old from Florida, was seeded second in Paris and simply received her first two singles matches, dropping a complete of simply 5 video games.
However her first Olympic singles match — she continues to be in girls’s doubles and combined doubles — ended with a efficiency that was hardly her finest on the most popular day of the Summer time Video games to this point, with the warmth rising above 90 levels Fahrenheit (32 Celsius).
Even earlier than the difficulty over the umpiring resolution, Gauff couldn’t maintain a great begin in opposition to Vekic, who was a semifinalist at Wimbledon this month.
The American led 4-1 and was a degree from transferring forward 5-1 and serving for the opening set. However she couldn’t shut the deal, then wasted a few set factors at 6-4 within the ensuing tiebreaker. Vekic surged to the tip of that set, then maintained her stage within the second.
One measure of Vekic’s superiority on this afternoon: She completed with 33 winners to only 9 for Gauff.
