Coco Gauff started her US Open campaign against Germany’s Laura Siegemund. She took the court for the first match of the night session on the first day of the tournament. Entering the contest, the American was a heavy favorite. However, Siegemund managed to make a match of it. The competitive encounter included not just some racket brilliance, but also a bitter verbal spat.

Despite losing the first set, Gauff gained firm control of the match as she found her stride. She found a way to deal with a redlining opponent way before the match was far from over, and Gauff seemed likely to see the ordeal out. However, close encounters often lead to heated moments and Gauff ended up showing one such rare instance of outrage on the court.

Coco Gauff has a feud with the umpire

Gauff and Siegemund were engaged in a deciding set when the incident took place. The 19-year-old had a comfortable three-game lead. However, the German players’s antics bothered the local girl. She was never happy because Siegemund was taking ages to ready to receive her service. After noticing this pattern in her service games, Gauff complained to the umpire.

The American said, “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.” Gauff expected Siegemund to get penalized for constant time-wasting, but the German kept getting away with it.

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But it seems like Gauff questioning the umpire eventually worked out as Siegemund was finally penalized.

Chair umpire penalizes Laura Siegemund

The German had already received a warning for time wasting. When Gauff was serving in the 4-1 game, the persistent time-wasting forced the umpire to take the harsh step and award Gauff with a point penalty. Unsurprisingly, Siegemund was far from pleased. She went on to quarrel with the umpire, but the decision would not be overturned.

Siegemund was down 1-5 in the decider, but she pushed Gauff to the edge. Gauff hitting three double faults in her service game only worsened things for the American. However, she also had another opportunity to serve out where she did not disappoint and sealed the tie 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. The 19-year-old will now take on the Russian teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva in the next round.

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