French Open winner Coco Gauff made it into the quarter-finals of the China Open after a tense and emotional match against Belinda Bencic.
During the match, Gauff, 21, stepped in after Bencic, 28, complained to the umpire about noise coming from Gauff’s team in the stands.
When Gauff tried to respond, Bencic snapped: “No-one’s talking to you. Your team is chatting. I’m too old for these mind games.”
Despite the drama, Gauff stayed focused and won the match 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 in Beijing.
Speaking after the match, Gauff said:
“I knew she said something to my team, but I didn’t hear it myself. My team told me she said, ‘Shut up’. I just told her to be respectful. I’ve always been friendly with her and her team off the court, so I didn’t like that comment. But we moved on.”
She added:
“I haven’t spoken to her since. She’s allowed to feel the way she did, and I’m allowed to respond how I feel. I still respect her – she’s a great player and it’s impressive that she’s come back strong after becoming a mum. I just wish that moment didn’t happen.”
Gauff Supports Swiatek Over Busy Tennis Schedule
Gauff also supported Iga Swiatek, the Wimbledon champion, who said earlier this week that the tennis season is too long.
“I think I’ve played as much tennis as I possibly can,” Gauff said.
“With more and more tournaments now lasting two weeks, it just doesn’t make sense to keep pushing your body like this.”