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American star Coco Gauff claimed she was “cheated” and argued with the chair umpire as she was eliminated from the women’s singles at the Olympics.
The US Open champion was beaten by in the third round by Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic 7-6(7) 6-2 in scorching conditions at Roland Garros in Paris.
Gauff cried on Court Philippe-Chatier as she argued with the chair umpire over a contentious call, in what was a near-identical dispute to the incident that marred her defeat to eventual champion Iga Swiatek at the French Open two months ago.
Trailing in the second set, Gauff complained that a line official called a shot from Vekic long of the baseline before the American prepared to return, which she said caused her to miss. Chair umpire Jaume Campistol overturned the call and awarded the point to Vekic.
The point earned Vekic the decisive break in the second set and the Croatian took the next two games to win the match after Gauff argued with the umpire and broke into tears.
The 20-year-old, who was America’s flagbearer at the opening ceremony along with LeBron James, was the second seed and had set her sights on singles gold.
In her confrontation with the umpire, Gauff said: “I never argue these calls but he called it out before I hit the ball. It always happens to me on this court!
‘Call the supervisor. It always happens to me, every time. You understand that I always have to advocate for myself, all the time. I’m getting cheated in this game. You guys are not fair to me.”
Later, Gauff renewed calls for video reviews to be used in tennis, adding: “There’s been multiple times this year where that’s happened to me — where I felt like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court.
"I felt that he called it before I hit, and I don’t think the ref disagreed," she said. "I think he just thought it didn’t affect my swing, which I felt like it did.
"These points are big deals. Usually afterward, they apologize. So it’s kind of frustrating. The ‘Sorry’ doesn’t help you once the match is over. I can’t say I would have won the match if I would have won that point."
Gauff, who led 5-2 early on and served for the opening set, still has hopes of winning an Olympics medal for Team USA in the women’s doubles with Jessica Pegula and mixed doubles with Taylor Fritz.
