1 year ago
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PARIS -- The country felt each excessively acquainted to Coco Gauff. An officiating determination she was definite was wrong. A seat umpire who wouldn't listen. Tears streaming down her cheeks. And, astir disappointing of all, a loss, this clip astatine the Paris Olympics.
Even the tract was the same: Court Philippe Chatrier was wherever the reigning U.S. Open champion was eliminated successful the 3rd circular astatine the Summer Games by Donna Vekic of Croatia 7-6 (7), 6-2 connected Tuesday. That's besides the main stadium utilized annually for the French Open, wherever Gauff recovered herself successful a astir identical quality implicit a telephone portion being defeated by eventual champion Iga Swiatek successful the semifinals past month.
AP Photo/Andy Wong
"There's been aggregate times this twelvemonth wherever that's happened to maine - wherever I felt similar I ever person to beryllium an advocator for myself connected the court," Gauff said afterward, renewing a telephone for video reappraisal to beryllium utilized successful tennis, arsenic it is successful galore different nonrecreational sports.
"I felt that helium called it earlier I hit, and I don't deliberation the ref disagreed," she said. "I deliberation helium conscionable thought it didn't impact my swing, which I felt similar it did."
Gauff is 1 of the biggest stars astatine the 2024 Paris Games, a 20-year-old from Florida who was seeded No. 2 astatine the Olympics successful singles and was the pistillate emblem bearer for the United States during the opening ceremonial connected Friday.
It was Vekic, though, who was receiving overmuch of the enactment from the stands aboriginal successful the match, with chants of "Don-na! Don-na!" ringing out. When Vekic began her comeback aft trailing 4-1, she responded to immoderate applause by waving her arms overhead for much - and the assemblage responded. In the adjacent game, Gauff delivered a backhand victor and raised a hand, wagging her fingers to inquire the folks successful the seats to backmost her - and they responded, drafting a wry grin from Vekic.
AP Photo/Andy Wong
By the clip the disputed telephone happened 2 games from the extremity of the match, Gauff was mode behind.
She deed a service and Vekic's instrumentality landed adjacent the baseline. A enactment justice initially called Vekic's changeable out; Gauff did not support the shot successful play. Chair umpire Jaume Campistol thought Vekic's changeable landed successful and awarded her the point, giving her a work interruption and a 4-2 lead.
Gauff walked implicit to speech to the authoritative and play was delayed for respective minutes.
"I ne'er reason these calls. But helium called it retired earlier I deed the ball," Gauff said to Campistol. "It's not adjacent a perception; it's the rules."
AP Photo/Andy Wong
She easy won her archetypal 2 singles matches, dropping a full of conscionable 5 games. But her archetypal Olympic singles tourney - she is inactive successful women's doubles and mixed doubles - ended with a show that was hardly her champion connected the hottest time of the Summer Games truthful far, with the vigor rising supra 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius).
"These points are large deals. Usually afterward, they apologize. So it's benignant of frustrating. The 'Sorry' doesn't assistance you erstwhile the lucifer is over," Gauff said. "I can't accidental I would person won the lucifer if I would person won that point."
Even earlier the occupation implicit the umpiring decision, Gauff could not prolong a bully commencement against Vekic, who was a semifinalist astatine Wimbledon this month.
The American led 4-1 and was a constituent from moving up 5-1 and serving for the opening set. But she didn't adjacent the deal, past wasted a mates of acceptable points astatine 6-4 successful the ensuing tiebreaker. Vekic surged to the extremity of that set, past maintained her level successful the second.
One measurement of Vekic's superiority connected this afternoon: She finished with 33 winners to conscionable 9 for Gauff.
"I'm not going to beryllium present and accidental 1 constituent affected the effect today," Gauff acknowledged, "because I was already connected the losing broadside of things."
Still, the astir memorable infinitesimal successful the lucifer was that second-set argument. Gauff adjacent alluded to that Swiatek nonaccomplishment portion talking to Campistol and a supervisor who joined the speech connected the tribunal Tuesday.
"It ever happens present astatine the French Open to me. Every time," Gauff said, holding a tennis shot successful 1 manus and her racket successful the different portion pleading her case. "This is similar the fourth, 5th clip it's happened this year."
Vekic, who precocious to the quarterfinals, did not get involved, staying astatine her extremity of the tribunal and fiddling with her strings.
"It's a precise tricky situation. I personally thought the umpire made a bully decision, due to the fact that the telephone came rather late," Vekic said erstwhile asked afterward astir what happened. "But I'll person to rewatch it. It's pugnacious to cognize precisely successful the moment."
When Gauff gave up and headed backmost connected tribunal to resume play, fans booed loudly - choler directed astatine the official.
The archetypal constituent of the adjacent crippled went Gauff's way, and spectators cheered wildly for her.
But astir 10 minutes later, the lucifer was over.
Gauff was scheduled to caput backmost retired connected tribunal with U.S. teammate Taylor Fritz for a first-round mixed doubles lucifer aboriginal Tuesday. She besides is competing successful women's doubles with Jessica Pegula astatine these Olympics.
Over the weekend, Gauff spoke astir aiming to permission with 3 medals - 1 from each of her events successful Paris. That won't hap now.
"I want" Gauff said Tuesday, "to travel location with something."
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