The US Open is off to a fierce start with the women’s and men’s top seeds competing in their first round on the flushing meadows. After Coco Gauff’s win in the Cincinnati Open 2023 last week, the hopes and expectations for the young American stunner have been off the roof. Her performance against the German professional Laura Siegemund in the first round of the US Open served all of these expectations right.
Siegemund, The 35-year-old German, has made her mark in the doubles field with two Grand Slam wins and attempts to make the same mark in the women’s singles as well. This US Open, her first opponent was the 19-year-old star Coco Gauff who has turned heads ever since she turned pro as a 14-year-old. When this duo went up against each other, things got heated pretty quickly.
What happened between Coco Gauff and Laura Siegemund at the US Open?
Drama sparked in the second set when Siegemund complained to the chair asking for more time between points. One of her serve games lasted for about 30 minutes with both the players fighting neck to neck unwilling to give up. While the German was frustrated that she wasn’t getting enough time between her serves, Coco was also getting annoyed with how her opponent kept stalling.
The crowd was also not having it with the German and booed her as she was talking to the chair umpire. However, the home favorite kept quiet, broke the serve, and tried to move past the time violations.
Things started to get heated further when Laura tried to stall Coco’s serve game as well in the third set. It is one thing to take time during their own serves, but to stall the opponent’s serve isn’t exactly considered okay. Coco had had enough and she quickly approached the chair umpire to address this issue. As the young star respectfully spoke up about the same, the entire court showed their support for her.
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”
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 29, 2023
Post-match, when Coco Gauff was asked to describe the match, she threw subtle shade, “slow”. Furthermore, she added:
“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 because I wanted to make sure before I came in here. Sometimes you have these emotions and you forget what you said. I’d still say everything I said in that moment again.”
Tennis fans always love how Coco Gauff speaks, and this time just as though the support for her wasn’t already over the roof, Coco Gauff gained immense love and support from the tennis community after this one match.
Coco Gauff advances to next round of the US Open
Adminst all of this drama, Coco Gauff also displayed impeccable tennis skills. With 7 aces, the 19-year-old defeated Laura Siegemund in three sets (3-6, 6-2, 6-4). For the second round, she will be going against Mirra Andreeva. This Russian professional is just 16 years old and is in gaining heed for her skills just like Coco did a couple of years back.
Mirra Andreeva completes the comeback.
The winner of Siegemund-Gauff awaits her in Round 2. pic.twitter.com/RyLwMFe5lH
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2023
Mirra and Coco have already faced each other once, where Coco was the one to emerge victorious. Tennis fans will have to look out for the second round between these 2 teenagers. Do you think the results will be different this time? What are your thoughts on Coco Gauff’s reaction? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
