SUMMARY
- As Coco Gauff took on Karolina Pliskova in Dubai, she got into a disagreement with the umpire.
- Andy Roddick found the entire exchange bizarre.
American star Coco Gauff did not have the easiest match against Karolina Pliskova in Dubai. Not only did she have to overcome a tough opponent, Gauff got into an argument with the umpire. It was a bizarre exchange, and it nearly left Gauff on the verge of tears.
Coco did not get off to a great start, as she served eight double faults in the first set alone. Pliskova went hard at her, breaking her three times to claim the first set, 6-2. However, as Coco was fighting to stay afloat in the second set, she got into a disagreement with the match official.
With the scoreline reading 4-2, Coco was unhappy with the umpire’s call in Pliskova’s favor. She challenged the ‘fault‘ call on her serve, and Hawk-Eye proved that the ball had landed inside. Pierre Bacchi, the umpire, awarded Pliskova the benefit of the doubt that the call had hindered her, even though she had missed the return. He awarded Gauff another first serve instead.
Coco Gauff is not happy with the umpire in her match against Pliskova.
“You called it out after she hit it.”
“Can you not cut me off for two seconds?”
“Call the supervisor… you can’t deny me the supervisor. I’m gonna ask her what the rule is.”
Coco hit a serve that was… pic.twitter.com/QyfBN1q6D6
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 21, 2024
Coco was annoyed because she thought Bacchi made the call after Pliskova’s shot. She asked to see the supervisor, but Pierre denied her repeated requests.
Since the video of the incident surfaced on social media, Andy Roddick also chimed in with his opinion. He bashed the umpire for denying Coco’s simple request after lying about being wrong. “This is an absurd exchange,” he wrote.
This is an absurd exchange for this umpire. 1. He’s completely wrong 2. He’s lying about being wrong. 3. She must have simply said 10 plus times, I’d like the supervisor. That’s not a judgement call. He simply needed to honor that normal request and call the supervisor. Coco did… https://t.co/wk6lcEvONR
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) February 21, 2024
An unhappy Coco Gauff retreated to the baseline, but this incident fired her up. The US Open champion dug her heels in and came out victorious against Pliskova.
Coco Gauff vs. Karolina Pliskova match summary
Despite the confrontation, Coco was able to regroup herself and win the replayed point to go up 5-2. Even though she failed to serve out the match at 5-3, she broke Pliskova in the tenth game to take the match to a decider.
Both players were able to hold their serve in the final set until Gauff broke Karolina in the penultimate game. She then served for the match and won it 2-6, 6-4, and 6-3 easily. Gauff saved all four break points she faced in the final set, snapping Pliskova’s 11-match winning streak.
Resilient Coco ✊@CocoGauff ends Pliskova’s 11-match winning streak, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3!#DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/2dvEd0qGJL
— wta (@WTA) February 21, 2024
“I think it fueled me. I want to watch back the video, I feel confident that [the call] was after [Pliskova hit the return]. But, it’s OK, it’s just one point. That happens in tennis,” she said (via Tennis.com).
Coco Gauff made it to the semifinals in Dubai last year. She will hope to replicate last year’s run and do even better this time. Gauff is set to take on Anna Kalinskaya next.
