Call her! Can you not cut me off for 2 seconds?” – Coco Gauff involved in heated confrontation with chair umpire after controversial call in Dubai 3R….
Coco Gauff was involved in a heated confrontation with the chair umpire during her third-round match at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships.Gauff is currently defending her semifinal run from last year at the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai. Following her opening match victory against Elisabetta Cocciaretto, she took on former World No. 1 and 2015 finalist Karolina Pliskova in the Round of 16 on Wednesday, February 21.
The American had a forgettable start, as she won just two games in the opening set (2-6). Gauff made a quick recovery in the second set by breaking Pliskova in her opening service game. The duo then traded breaks with the World No. 3 eventually earning a 4-2 lead.In the seventh game of the set, when Coco Gauff served to increase her lead to 5-2, she was miffed at a controversial call made by the chair umpire in Karolina Pliskova’s favor.The 19-year-old had challenged a ‘fault’ serve call made by the umpire, which was then shown to have landed in by the Hawk-Eye. The chair umpire, Pierre Bacchi, however, did not award Gauff the point for her valid serve. He instead granted her another first serve, claiming that the wrongly made ‘fault’ call accounted for hindrance during Pliskova’s return
Coco Gauff, infuriated by the decision, rushed towards the umpire and claimed that her serve was wrongly called out ‘after’ her opponent had already hit the return, which caught the net.
“You called it out right after she hit it! Yes, you did! The ball was already in the net when she hit it and you said out,” the 2023 US Open champion debated. “The call was a late call!Bacchi, however, maintained that he “called it right away”:
“Call the supervisor. I am not playing until you call the supervisor. I’m gonna ask her the rule,” Gauff said. “You don’t know the answer. My right is to question.”
“You can’t tell me the rule.
If I’m questioning the rule, you have to call the supervisor. That’s in my right. Call her!” Gauff continued. “Can you listen to me without cutting me off? Can you not cut me off for two seconds?”On the verge of tears, the American was then eventually forced to resume the match after the chair umpire refused to budge.
“You’re gonna owe me. After the match, when you watch the video, you’ll apologize,” she said, fighting back tears.Despite the emotional confrontation, Coco Gauff was able to regroup herself. Following yet another exchange of breaks, the American clinched the second set 6-4. She kept her composure in the deciding set to claim a decisive break against Karolina Pliskova in the eighth game.Gauff closed out the match with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback victory after one hour and 54 minutes of play.The World No. 3 has now set up a clash with Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya for a spot in the semifinal of the Dubai Tennis Championships. The duo will face off on Thursday, February 22.
