Coco Gauff on time controversy in US Open first round win over Laura Siegemund – ‘I really don’t like confrontation’

Coco Gauff admitted her frustrations as she complained to the umpire about the stalling tactics of her US Open first round opponent Laura Siegemund. The American teenager initially refused to react and kept her calm but eventually found herself speaking up when she was denied a crucial point in the deciding set and raised her concerns over what was happening.

Coco Gauff says that she tried to be ‘respectful’ as she confronted the umpire during a bad-tempered US Open first-round win over Laura Siegemund.
The American came back from a set down to advance 3-6 6-2 6-4 at Flushing Meadows but the match was not without controversy following a series of disputes over time between serves.
Siegemund seemed prepared to push the limits of how long she would take on her own serve, frequently allowing the shot clock to tick down to zero. The German simultaneously inferred that Gauff was too quick on her serve and constantly sought to hold up her opponent.
Things came to a head in the deciding set when Siegemund again held up Gauff’s serve, causing the 19-year-old to speak out to umpire, Marijana Veljović.

“She went over the clock about four times, you’ve given her a time violation once. How is this fair?” she can he heard saying on the broadcast.
She added: “I’m going at normal speed. I go at medium pace speed”.