By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
World no. 2 American tennis superstar Coco Gauff received a painful third-round exit in the ongoing Paris Olympics women’s tennis event on July 30, 2024, at the famous Philippe Chatrier court.
The one-time Grand Slam winner was dealt with a sweeping loss by world no. 21 ranked Donna Vekic of Croatia- 7.6, 6.2- and was the one who advanced to the quarterfinal stage of the Olympics.
It was a disappointing loss for the heavy favorite as Gauff held a commanding 5-2 lead in the opening set of their third-round duel.
However, the Croatian bet displayed nerves of steel, saving two crucial break points while holding her service possession to level the match at 5-all.
After the impressive come-from-behind run by Vekic, Gauff just lost her momentum and completely crashed out, allowing the Croatian to build a confidence-boosting 1-0 lead.
With the missed chance of bagging a much-needed first lead on the Olympic stage, Gauff’s focus just turned away from the match as Vekic continued to pummel her in the baseline exchanges.
There was also a little drama during the match as Gauff figured in a heated argument with the official match umpire, claiming that they already called out before she hit the ball in the baseline.
During the incident, Gauff was down 4-2, and the umpire scored the set for the Croatian despite the American hearing that they already called an out ball.
“I felt that he called it before I hit and I don’t think the referee disagreed but he just thought it didn’t affect my swing which I felt like it did,” Gauff said.
After the exchange of words, Gauff still continued to play, but Vekic came out on top after a consistent hitting display with her groundstrokes.
With the win, Vekic became the first Croatian women’s tennis player to reach the quarterfinal round of the Olympic singles since 1996.
