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Coco Gauff was eliminated before Iga Swiatek for the third time in the last three Roland Garros performances, this time 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals on Thursday. Although a controversial decision by umpire Aurelie Tourte was not an absolutely determining factor in the match (the Pole was the best play from start to finish), it certainly affected the emotional side of the North American.
What happened? It happened that in the fourth game of the second set, No. 1 hit a serve that was called long, just as Gauff returned a backhand that went wide. But the chair umpire overturned the decision, saying the service had been good. Immediately, Tourte awarded the point to the Pole instead of repeating it. Although the American said she was “1000 percent sure” that the linesman’s ruling interfered with her serve return, the umpire insisted that this voice had no impact on the final decision.
The 20-year-old player, one of the great realities of the WTA, complained to the judge: “Are you serious? She yelled it before I hit. Can you ask them?”. Faced with the refusal to review the decision, Gauff insisted: “They’re booing because you’re wrong. She yelled before he hit the ball. “I have the right to finish my swing.” And he returned to the charge: “You’re wrong and it’s the second time it’s happened. “It’s a Grand Slam semi-final, I know the rules of the game.”he insisted.
From there, after the ruling and the argument, Gauff could not hold back her tears and was left distraught and helpless, but she actually managed to break Swiatek’s serve in that game for a brief 3-1 lead in the second set. Although that particular situation had no influence on the outcome, No. 3 was still clearly dissatisfied. In fact, in his post-match press conference He joined the chorus of voices from the tennis world calling for the use of video review. “One hundred percent,” Gauff responded when asked if incidents like that should be reviewed. “I think tennis is the only sport in which not only do we not have the virtual reality system, But many times the decisions are made by a single person. In other sports there are usually several referees to make a decision. I know the US Open brought some of that last year, I think. I know we used it on our doubles at some point.”
And I add. Yeah, I definitely think at this point it’s almost ridiculous that we don’t have it. I’m not just talking because that happened to me, but I think all sports have it. Plus, there are so many decisions made and as a player it sucks to go back or be online and see that you were absolutely right. It’s like, ‘What does that do for you at that moment?'” Gauff’s speech continued in favor of change in the near future: “Also, in situations you can call the supervisor, but there is not much they can do from that point of view. I definitely think that as a sport we have to evolve and we have the technology. “They are showing it on television, so I don’t understand why the player can’t see it.”
If the call had been reviewed and modified, it would obviously have preempted the emotional imbalance Gauff displayed at the time. The 20-year-old also talked about his tears. “I think everything was overwhelming,” he explained. “Obviously I’m losing the game. When you play against her… every point matters against anyone, but especially against her. I think it was just one of those moments, but I got through it. Obviously I won that game. “I usually don’t get too frustrated with decisions like that, but I think it was just a combination of everything that happened at the time.”
THE NATION
