Laura Siegemund was unhappy with the crowd at the US Open. Photo: AP/Jason DeCrow
Laura Siegemund slammed fans at the US Open after a war of words with Coco Gauff led the Germans to feel that the audience «didn't respect me».
Siegemund met with the house favorite in the opening night against Arthur Ashe on Monday and threatened to upset by winning the first set 6-3.
Gauff, one of the favorites for the title in the women's draw, was not in the best shape in the first round match , but started fighting after she broke Siegemund's serve in a thrilling 26-minute first game of the second set.
As the match went on, Gauff and the fan crowd grew annoyed with Siegemund's delaying tactics and the American was ecstatic when referee Marijana Veljović deducted a point from Siegemund for not being ready to receive, giving Gauff a 5–1 lead in the decider.
After winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and 51 minutes, Gauff replied «Slowly» when asked about her verdict on the match.
The US Open has a reputation for being the noisiest major of the year, and Siegemund's emotions spilled over into her post-match press conference.
“I never did anything against the audience,” she said. “I remained calm. I have never made even gestures against the public. And they didn't respect me. They didn't respect my game. They don't respect the player that I am. They have no respect for tennis, good tennis. I have to say that it hurts a lot.
“There is no doubt that I am slow. There is no doubt about this. I am getting time violations. There is no doubt that I should be faster. … But at the same time, I play like that. I am very slow. I do it for myself, I don't do it against another. Applause when you miss the first pitch and stuff like that, I don't get it.”
«I was very disappointed.» I thought I went out there, I'm having a great time with Ash, I must say I didn't have a very good time. It only happened [because of] the public.”
Laura Siegemund criticized US Open viewers for not showing her 'disrespect' during her first round loss to Coco Gauff 🗣#USOpen pic.twitter.com/aoYmD80aDJ< /p> — Eurosport (@eurosport), August 29, 2023
However, Gauf was not attracted by the atmosphere. “I mean it was a tough match,” she added. “I didn’t show my best tennis and Laura fought to the end. I managed to overcome some difficulties, so I'm glad I survived.»
«Sometimes it smells like cigarettes, sometimes it smells like weed.»
Meanwhile, Maria Sakkari, who placed eighth, was distracted by the smell of marijuana before passing out. of the tournament in the first round.
Sakkari, who competed in the majors this year, was leading Rebeka Masarova 4-1 in the first set when she complained about the smell coming from nearby Corona Park. She added: «We trained here yesterday and everything was the same.»
The Greek lost the match 6-4, 6-4, and later said: «It was not the smell.» it affected the score.
“It was just a comment because he smelled a lot, but it has nothing to do with the match. Sometimes it smells like food, sometimes cigarettes, sometimes weed, but we can't control it because we're out in the open. Behind the park, people can do whatever they want.
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