Coco Gauff and Laura Siegemund controversy at US Open 2023: Alex Corretja & Mats Wilander react: 'It hurt both players'
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Published 30/08/2023 at 11:45 GMT
Coco Gauff's 2023 US Open first-round win over Laura Siegemund will always be remembered - but perhaps not for the right reasons - after the match was blighted by time controversies. Gauff ultimately prevailed 3-6 6-2 6-4, and Siegemund was left in tears by the crowd's reaction towards her. Alex Corretja and Mats Wilander have reacted to the situation in their roles as pundits for Eurosport.
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Alex Corretja and Mats Wilander have both had their say on the speed-of-play controversy in Coco Gauff’s US Open first-round win over Laura Siegemund.
Gauff prevailed with a 3-6 6-2 6-4 victory at Flushing Meadows, but the scoreline proved to be a backdrop for a row that escalated between the players regarding time taken between serves.
Siegemund's perceived slower tactics to allow the shot clock to tick down appeared to frustrate Gauff and the majority of the crowd.
The German, who also seemed to make Gauff wait to serve several times, said afterwards that the fans on Arthur Ashe showed her "no respect" as they cheered her faults and made noise as she served.
Eurosport tennis expert Wilander believes the situation "hurt both players".
He said: “I think she [Siegemund] was trying to play a smart match, and to slow Coco Gauff down would be very smart.
“I think it's a fine line, and it's the chair umpire that most probably let it go too far. She maybe should've warned Coco that you're playing a bit too quickly, and have a chat with them both and say 'hey, we're not on time here so, Laura speed up a bit and Coco take a bit of time.
“It would have been good to have a conversation so you don’t have this sort of situation, because it seemed like it hurt both players.
“If one does it and it helps them, then maybe you can say it was a victory in a way. But when it hurts both of them, it doesn't make any sense, so a chair umpire needs to step in earlier."
Eurosport expert Corretja highlighted Gauff’s strength in her conviction to question the time issue, but believes the time discrepancies between points needs to be reviewed.
“She's got more experience now, and maybe more confidence in herself,” he said.
“I always wonder, if you have 20 seconds in between points, why do you need to follow the speed of the server? In a way, they say you have 20 seconds in between points, but it's not true.
“You don't have 20 seconds if the other girl is ready to serve in five seconds. Sometimes when you serve, you can go over the limit, but when you return, you need to follow the speed from your opponent. Sometimes it's not easy and Coco was playing fast and as Mats said, Laura was trying to play her game as well.”
It was a point that Wilander agreed with.
"As the chair umpire, she could have explained as a returner, you have this much time; you have eight seconds and if you're ready in that time then Coco Gauff can't serve to you beforehand. It would be something to help understand what's going on. We have a shot clock, where is it?”
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