Paris (AFP) – Coco Gauff demanded the introduction of video replays at Roland Garros after being dumped out of the Olympic Games singles tennis tournament on Tuesday in a stormy defeat to impressive Donna Vekic of Croatia. Vekic came through 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals after world number two Gauff became embroiled in a tearful, bitter dispute with the chair umpire over a line call in the sixth game of the second set.
Gauff, who had already surrendered a 5-2 lead in the first set, lost her composure on break point when a ball from Vekic was called out. However, Gauff then hit the return into the net as the chair umpire Jaume Campistol was correcting the original call. He insisted the call had not hindered the American’s shot. The 20-year-old wept as she pleaded her case but the point and break was awarded to Vekic. Gauff then called for the introduction of video replays to adjudicate controversial calls.
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The French Open venue is the only one of the four Grand Slams that does not utilise technology in any form, as officials believe electronic aids are not accurate on dusty clay courts. “There’s been multiple times this year where that happened to me,” Gauff, a runner-up at the French Open on the same Court Philipper Chatrier in Paris in 2022, stated. “I feel like in tennis, we should have a VR (video review) system because these points are big deals. And, yeah, usually afterwards, they apologise, so it’s kind of frustrating when the sorry doesn’t help you once the match is over.”
Gauff added: “I can’t say I would have won the match if I would have won that point, but replaying that point can make a big difference in that game.” The American star had also argued with the chair umpire during her semi-final loss to Iga Swiatek at the French Open last month. Again, the dispute centred on a line call. “I have to advocate for myself all the time,” Gauff, who played a starring role at the Games opening ceremony on Friday where she carried the US flag with basketball superstar LeBron James, told the umpire on Tuesday. “I’m getting cheated in this game. You guys are not fair to me.”
Vekic, the first Croatian woman in the Olympic singles quarter-finals since Iva Majoli in 1996, said the controversial incident was a “very tricky situation.” “I personally thought the umpire made a good decision because the call came quite late,” said the 28-year-old Wimbledon semi-finalist. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Vekic had to save three break points in the seventh game as her momentum was checked by the delay. “I lost my concentration for a couple of points, but I’m happy that I managed to come back in that game because it was an important game,” she said.
Vekic will face either Marta Kostyuk or Greece’s Maria Sakkari for a place in the semi-finals. Gauff, who sat out the delayed Tokyo Olympics with Covid, still has a chance of gold in Paris as she remains in both the women’s and mixed doubles.
© 2024 AFP
