"Jelena Ostapenko would have handled the situation" - Daria Saville jokes about climate protestors interrupting Coco Gauff-Karolina Muchova US Open SF

Australian tennis star Daria Saville has joked about Jelena Ostapenko being able to handle the climate change protestors who disrupted the Coco Gauff-Karolina Muchova semifinal match at the 2023 US Open.

The match between Gauff and Muchova encountered a 40-minute delay during the early stages of the second set due to a disturbance caused by climate activists in the stands of the Arthur Ashe Stadium. At the time of the interruption, Coco Gauff had a lead of 6-4, 1-0.

Security guards and multiple NYPD police officers were dispatched who approached the three protesters, who were wearing shirts with the message, "End Fossil Fuels." While two of the activists were quickly escorted out within minutes, the removal of the individual who had glued their feet to the ground proved to be a more time-consuming task.

In light of the events that unfolded, one fan took to social media to share a video of Jelena Ostapenko successfully making an unruly spectator leave the stadium during her third-round match against Bernarda Pera at Flushing Meadows.

The fan humorously commented that the Latvian player was the perfect person to handle the situation that transpired at the Gauff-Muchova semifinal match.

"Someone call Ostapenko," the fan posted.

Daria Seville had to witness a similar disruption during the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. She re-shared the video and jokingly suggested that Jelena Ostapenko would have handled the situation with great finesse.

"I love tennis twitter hahhaha. she would have handled the situation :D," Saville posted.

"She's a great player, she's still very young" - Jelena Ostapenko after her quarterfinals loss to Coco Gauff at US Open 2023

Jelena Ostapenko and Coco Gauff at the 2023 US Open

Jelena Ostapenko gave her thoughts on Coco Gauff's abilities after her loss in the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open on Tuesday, September 5.

Gauff defeated Ostapenko 6-0, 6-2 in 68 minutes to advance to the semifinals at Flushing Meadows. The triumph extended Gauff's winning streak to 10 matches; the American has also won 16 out of her last 17 matches in a span of just 35 days.

During the post-match press conference, Ostapenko's words seemed to imply that she believed Gauff's victory was primarily due to the Latvian not playing at her best. Ostapenko argued that the scoreboard did not accurately portray the true nature of the match.

The 26-year-old expressed that she had encountered several opportunities to capitalize on, but faced difficulties in executing shots that she typically excels at.

"I think she maybe changed a little bit the tactics. She's a great player, she's still very young. But I mean, as I said, the score is what it is, but so many games, especially in the second set, I had so many chances and I was missing the balls which I normally am not missing," Ostapenko said.