Gauff 'fuelled' by umpire row to advance in Dubai

[February 22, 2024]  (Reuters) - Coco Gauff said a heated exchange with the chair umpire midway through her match with Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday had spurred her on to complete a 2-6 6-4 6-3 victory and reach the quarter-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
 
The U.S. Open champion lost the first set but was leading 4-2 in the second when her first serve at deuce, which Pliskova returned into the net, was called out. 

WTA 1000 - Dubai Tennis Championships - Dubai Duty Free Tennis Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - February 21, 2024 Coco Gauff of the U.S. in action during her round of 16 match against Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova REUTERS/Rula Rouhana/ File Photo

The American challenged the call and her review was successful but instead of awarding Gauff the point French chair umpire Pierre Bacchi told the 19-year-old to replay it.

That sparked a lengthy back-and-forth between the pair, with Guaff's repeated requests to speak to a supervisor denied by the umpire.

"It definitely gave me some adrenaline," said Gauff, who eventually composed herself and won the replayed point. "Luckily I was able to overcome that pretty quickly. I'm glad I was able to reset.

"I think it just fuelled me," she added.

"It's just one point. It happens in tennis. Players make mistakes, everybody makes mistakes.

"I was trying to tell myself to stay calm the next point. Sometimes I get angry and I go for too much. I was trying to let that not be the turning point for the set.

"Maybe I dragged it out a little longer than I needed to, but I did what I felt was best in that moment."

Third seed Gauff faces Anna Kalinskaya later on Thursday for a place in the semi-finals.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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