Coco Gauff left in TEARS after furious row with umpire during French Open semi-final defeat

Coco Gauff said the referee should ‘be ashamed of herself’ during a tearful row as she lost 6-2, 6-4 to Iga Swiatek in the French Open semi-final.

The Polish world number 1 will go for her third title in a row here at Roland Garros on Saturday, against the winner of the second semi-final between Mirra Andreeva and Jasmine Paolini.

For twenty-year-old Gauff it was an afternoon full of frustration and anger in Paris. The flashpoint came when Gauff tried to claw his way back into the match, leading 2-1 in the second set on Swiatek’s serve.

Swiatek’s second serve was called just as Gauff hit her return long. But when the referee overruled the decision and awarded the point to Swiatek, Gauff furiously insisted that she hit her return after the ball had already been given out, and so the point should have been replayed.

“He called and then I hit it. “I’m a thousand percent sure,” the American said.

Iga Swiatek’s second serve was called just as Gauff hit her return long, sparking the argument

“For me it had no influence on your shot,” referee Aurelie Tourte replied.

‘If he shouts before I hit him, I stop responding. I didn’t even finish my follow-up research. He called before I hit it. Would you like to ask him?’

“No, we can’t ask him that.”

The crowd cheered enthusiastically at that moment – ​​a Pavlovian response from fans here when an incident occurs.

“They’re cheering because you’re wrong,” Gauff said.

“For me it didn’t affect the recording.”

‘You got it wrong. It’s the second time that happens. You should be ashamed of yourself. It’s a semi-final of a grand slam, know the rules of the game.’

Gauff eventually let it go and appeared to wipe away tears as she walked back to her goal.

So who was right? Replays suggest the conversation took place at the same time Gauff played her return. That makes it marginal anyway, but Gauff’s argument that the call prompted her to withdraw from her follow-up action is compelling.

Gauff eventually broke in that game for a 3-1 lead, but Swiatek won the next four games in a row and served up a comfortable victory.

Gauff furiously insisted that she hit her return after the ball had already been called

The American, seeded third in Paris, was defeated 6-2, 6-4 by world number 1 Iga Swiatek

Their head-to-head score now stands at 11-1 in favor of the Pole and on this evidence it’s hard to see Gauff improving on that anytime soon.

The problem with a one-on-one sport like tennis is that when a player’s natural play matches up so poorly with another player, he is forced to step outside his comfort zone and that can almost turn the match even further in the other direction. shift.

Both players like to rally and run, wearing down their opponents with controlled aggression. And Gauff is better at that style of play than any other player in the world – with one unfortunate exception.

So Gauff came here and tried to blow Swiatek off the Philippe Chatrier field – like Naomi Osaka almost did in the second round. But that was Osaka playing her natural game; this was an over-the-top effort by Gauff.

During the first two points of the match she shot two forehands long and that was unfortunately predictive for the rest of the set.

As a result, Swiatek was able to settle into ‘don’t miss’ mode and wait for her opponent to hand her the set. The 23-year-old finished the first set with two winners, four forced errors and five unforced – certainly the first time she has won a set 6-2 with such modest statistics. Gauff had 12 winners, but 11 forced and 18 unforced errors.

So of the 31 points Swiatek needed to win the first set, 29 were due to Gauff errors.

Gauff improved in the second set. She was more selective in her aggression and focused more on depth than strength, pushing Swiatek back at times. But the number of unforced errors was still far too high and the match ended as it started, with a long forehand from Gauff.

So Swiatek marches on towards what everyone expects to be a fourth French Open title in five years. And Gauff needs to sit down with her team again and answer this most pertinent question: How on earth can I beat Iga Swiatek?