At the Paris Olympics, Coco Gauff loses a match to Donna Vekic and a disagreement with the chair umpire.
For Coco Gauff, the scene was all too familiar. An unresponsive chair umpire. Drops of tears rolling down her cheeks. The most disheartening of all was a defeat, this time during the Olympics in Paris.
Even the location remained the same: on Tuesday, Donna Vekic of Croatia defeated the defending U.S. Open champion 7-6 (7), 6-2 in the third round of the Summer Games at Court Philippe Chatrier. That’s also the primary stadium that hosts the French Open every year. In the quarterfinals last month, Gauff lost to eventual champion Iga Swiatek after engaging in a virtually identical argument over a phone call.
“It has happened to me several times this year, and I feel like I have to defend myself on the court,” Gauff remarked in the post-match press conference, reinforcing the demand that video review be used in tennis, as it is in many other professional sports.
She remarked, “I felt like he called it before I hit, and I don’t think the ref disagreed.” “I believe he mistakenly believed it had no bearing on my swing, even though I felt it did.”
One of the major stars of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is Gauff, a 20-year-old Florida native who was ranked second in the singles competition and carried the American flag during Friday’s opening ceremony.
Later on Tuesday, Gauff and American partner Taylor Fritz returned to the court and defeated Nadia Podoroska and Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina in a first-round mixed doubles match, 6-1, 6-7 (6), 10-5, to advance to the quarterfinals. Alongside Jessica Pegula, Gauff is playing in the women’s doubles competition in Paris.
In the end, doubles if anything encourage you to venture out more. According to Gauff, you don’t want to damage someone else’s chances because of your mindset. “Earlier, Taylor and I discussed this: A medal is a medal. I’m concentrating on that since I may be able to complete it in two more events.
Gauff was well behind when the contested call occurred, two games from the end of the game.
Vekic returned her serve close to the baseline after she had struck it. Vekic’s shot was initially ruled out by a line judge; Gauff failed to keep the ball in play. Chair umpire Jaume Campistol gave Vekic a 4-2 lead and a service break after determining that her shot had connected.
There was a few-minute stoppage in play as Gauff approached the official.
I don’t dispute their calls. However, Gauff shouted it out before I could hit the ball, addressing Campistol. “It’s the rules, not even a perception.”
She lost just five games in her first two singles matches, which she won with ease. However, on the hottest day of the Summer Games thus far, with temperatures rising beyond 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), her maiden Olympic singles event concluded with a performance that was scarcely her finest.
“These are significant points. They usually apologize later. Thus, it’s a little annoying. After the game, the “Sorry” doesn’t help you,” according to Gauff.
Before the controversy surrounding the umpiring call, Gauff was unable to maintain a strong lead against Vekic, this month’s Wimbledon semifinalist.
The American was up 4-1, one point from taking the lead 5-1, and serving to start the set. However, she failed to seal the deal, and in the next tiebreaker, she gave up a few set points at 6-4. Vekic kept her level in the second set after charging to the finish of the first.
As an indicator of Vekic’s dominance this afternoon, Gauff only managed nine victories compared to her final 33.
Gauff said, “I was already on the losing side of things, so I’m not going to sit here and say one point affected the result today.”
Still, their dispute in the second set stands out as the match’s most memorable moment. Even when speaking with Campistol and a supervisor who joined the discussion on the court on Tuesday, Gauff made reference to that Swiatek defeat.
For me, it always occurs here at the French Open. Holding a tennis ball in one hand and her racket in the other, Gauff argued her argument, “Every time.” “It’s happened probably four or five times already this year.”
Vekic, who went on to the quarterfinals, remained at her end of the court and played with her strings without intervening.
It’s a really precarious position. When questioned about the incident after it occurred, Vekic stated, “I personally thought the umpire made a good decision, because the call came quite late.” I’ll have to see it again, though. It’s difficult to know for sure at the time.
