Coco Gauff eventually had enough.
Gauff opened her 2023 U.S. Open journey with a matchup against Laura Siegemund on Monday, but the tennis took something of a back seat by the third set. Both the crowd and the American tennis star were visibly frustrated by Siegemund’s pace of play throughout the match.
It reached a point where Gauff even approached the chair umpire to complain about how everything was unfolding:
Siegemund flirted with the serve clock time on a number of her own serves and then wasn’t ready for Gauff’s serves on the other end when the No. 6 seed was ready to start ensuing points. She was issued a time warning—which the crowd greeted with a roar—shortly before Gauff eventually let her frustrations be known in her interaction with the chair umpire.
The drama wasn’t done, though, as Siegemund was then penalized a point for a time penalty later in the third set.
It was her turn to approach the chair umpire and complain after that penalty, but the crowd was clearly on Gauff’s side given its reaction to the entire scene.
To Gauff’s credit, she eventually escaped with the 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory. It was anything but easy, and the match ended up lasting two hours and 50 minutes.
When asked during her post-match interview on ESPN what it was like to play in such a grueling match, she said, “slow.”
Perhaps the next match will be quicker.
