"Beyond ridiculous" - Coco Gauff's coach Brad Gilbert rebukes umpire over time violation controversy with Laura Siegemund at US Open

Andre Agassi’s ex-coach Brad Gilbert, who recently became part of Coco Gauff’s coaching team, recently reflected on Gauff's controversial US Open match against Laura Siegemund.

Coco Gauff and Laura Siegemund locked horns on Arthur Ashe Stadium in the opening round of the 2023 US Open on Monday, August 28. Gauff earned a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 comeback victory over Siegemund to book her spot in the second round against Mirra Andreeva.

However, the American was far from pleased about her opponent’s conduct during the match.

Gauff accused the German of wasting time between points and delaying her serve. The 19-year-old didn’t initially make her displeasure known, but after Siegemund’s repeated delays, she confronted the chair umpire about why the 35-year-old wasn’t being given time violations.

Gauff also had the backing of the home crowd, and her coaching team, including Gilbert and head coach Pere Riba, also rallied behind her. Siegemund was promptly slapped with two time violations later on, which resulted in a point penalty.

In the press conference after the match, Coco Gauff maintained that she was in the right for speaking up. Gilbert, meanwhile, took to social media to further express his annoyance about the incident.

“I don’t like to vent too often. I was so surprised that umpire would not call time violation when the player was consistently not having toss in the air well past zero sometimes 10-15 seconds past after 3-ball rally. It was beyond ridiculous, finally a time violation in 3rd set,” he wrote.

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"They treated me like I was a cheater" – Laura Siegemund reduced to tears after US Open match with Coco Gauff

Laura Siegemund arguing with the chiar umpire during US Open match against Coco Gauff

Laura Siegemund also shared her thoughts about the entire incident during her US Open press conference. The 35-year-old could not hold back her tears as she denounced the American crowd for ganging up on her while backing their home favorite.

"They treated me like I was a cheater. Like I was like, trying sneaky ways to win this match or something. They treated me like I was a bad person," she said.

The US Open crowd was vocal in their support of Coco Gauff, at times even cheering for her when Siegemund missed a serve. Frustrated by their behavior, the former World No. 27 criticized the New York fans for their hostility.

"At the end of the day, I go home and I look at myself and I can say I did a great job, but did I get anything from people for that? I didn't. Maybe it's not zero. Maybe it feels like zero right now. But it feels pretty much like a flat zero, even less than zero because they treated me bad," the German said.

She burst into tears as she opened up about her expectations from tennis fans, before sharing how she approaches her matches.

"I know there are fans out there that appreciate fighting and not giving up and just good sport. I think it's the first time I'm crying in a press conference. I thought, you know you are, as a tennis player, you are a performer. You owe the people. You owe the kids that watch. You owe the people that buy tickets for a lot of money," Laura Siegemund said.