The US Open is my favorite tournament because it’s in New York and I’m biased towards any New York-related content. But also because the crowd asserts themselves as important characters in every match letting the players know for sure who they are rooting for and rooting against.
At Wimbledon, everyone is quiet and proper and timid and lame. But not in New York, baybeee. We are loud as hell and we pick favorites.
19-year-old Coco Gauff is one of those favorites. Unfortunately for 35-year-old Laura Siegemund, the crowd was not shy about their feelings towards her.
But in defense of my fellow New Yorkers, the booing wasn’t entirely unwarranted.
On Monday night, Coco Gauff beat Laura Siegemund in three sets in a match that was nearly 3 hours long. There were long volleys and incredible back-and-forth sequences but there was also a lotttt of stalling.
Siegemund attempted to slow the pace of the match down by taking any and all opportunities to avoid standing in position for Coco’s next serve.
But it was even more obvious when it was Siegemund’s time to serve and she used every single second possible before sending the ball over the net.
Eventually, Coco had enough.
Coco Gauff expressed her frustration to the chair umpire after she thought her opponent, Laura Siegemund, was slow to get ready for her serves several times. pic.twitter.com/WjXz4bskkt
— ESPN (@espn) August 29, 2023
Laura had her own rebuttal:
Siegemund unhappy with umpire in Coco Gauff match:
“Her last service game, I never went to the towel.. she’s playing almost unreasonably fast. I’m always there”
Umpire disagrees
“So I can’t go to the towel at all anymore?”
The crowd boos. It’s chilly in New York tonight. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/99uQaBcJRs
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 29, 2023
But that’s when the sky really started to fall for Siegemund.
Again, she’s on the road in front of a hostile crowd and now those spectators seemingly got a green light to boo her because Coco made her look like she was cheating.
This German woman is at the end of her physical prime. This could very well be her last appearance at the US Open. And she’s getting her ass dragged by a teenager.
OF COURSE, she wants to slow things down. She probably can’t even gather her thoughts while every fan boos her.
Believe it or not, Laura Siegemund didn’t have the best sportsmanship after she lost:
Coco Gauff & Laura Siegemund handshake at the US Open.
A little bit of frost, as to be expected.
In other news, Laura didn’t shake the umpires hand.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 29, 2023
She would later get emotional at the post-game press conference explaining how upset she was getting by the crowd’s reaction to her play and how they made her feel like a bad person for simply wanting to catch her breath.
Laura Siegemund played a fantastic match against title favorite Coco Gauff last night but she got booed of the court for, imagine, at 36yo having to slowdown the pace of play between against a 19yo. Got a point penalty for that. She had things to say: pic.twitter.com/P3yoiffk3P
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) August 29, 2023
Congrats to Coco Gauff for picking up the W and uh, sorry(?) to Laura Siegemund, I reckon. Come back to New York, it’s not all bad. We have like, maddddd hot dogs. All you can eat.
Here are my biggest takeaways from this match:
- Coco Gauff is really good.
- Aging sucks.
- Being a tennis judge looks like a miserable job.
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