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Tennis fans have voiced their frustration with the persistent discourse of racism surrounding the drama in Coco Gauff's US Open first-round match against Laura Siegemund.
Gauff orchestrated a strong comeback in that contest, defeating Siegemund 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in just under three hours at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 19-year-old, however, was driven to frustration as Siegemund allegedly took more than the legal amount of time while serving.
The tension reached its zenith during the third set, when Gauff confronted the chair umpire about the German's multiple time violations.
Following a heated argument between Gauff and the chair umpire, Siegemund finally received a time violation penalty. That gave the American a crucial game point.
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Many tennis fans online accused the the chair umpire of being racist against Gauff. They criticized the umpire while applauding the teenager for standing her ground.
However, several fans have now expressed their weariness about the incessant accusations of racism during incidents like these. One fan said they would rather gouge their own eyes out than witness another instance of someone bringing up racism in relation to this incident.
"If I see one more video on this discourse I will gouge my eyes out," a fan posted.
Another fan claimed that the situation was not related to racism.
"The way this situation had nothing to do with Racism," the fan posted.
Here are some of other fan reactions:
“Coco Gauff is on the rise” – Novak Djokovic discusses American's chances of winning US Open title
During a recent press conference at the 2023 US Open, Novak Djokovic expressed his admiration for Coco Gauff, stating that the American was on the verge of securing a Grand Slam title.
Djokovic was first informed about the fact that Gauff admired him, and was asked to express his thoughts on the 19-year-old's playing style.
"Coco [Gauff] is on the rise. Physically she seems to be very fit. She's striking the ball very well. I think she broke to the kind of top of the women's game quite early. Some years ago I think she was like 16, 17, when she played fourth round of Wimbledon," he said in response.
The Serb added that every player needs time for their game to "come together" before they can achieve great things.
"But it still takes some time, a few years for things to come together where you feel that you are complete as a player, that you are ready to win Slams and dominate the game," Novak Djokovic said.
Djokovic then expressed his belief that having Andre Agassi's former coach Brad Gilbert on her team would significantly contribute to Coco Gauff reaching new heights in her career.
"She's still young, but now Brad Gilbert on her side with the great experience of coaching some of the greats, I think things are coming together for her. She's been playing well here," Djokovic said.
The 36-year-old went on to claim that Gauff had a good chance to go far at the ongoing US Open.
"I think she's coming very close to that stage and that level. So I'm sure that she has very high hopes for US Open and she should, because she's playing really well," he said.
Brad Gilbert, who has contributed to the success of players like Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray, joined Coco Gauff's team in July this year.
