Coco Gauff has won her ninth consecutive match at the China Open, but that is not the big talking point after her victory over Belinda Bencic.
Gauff was involved in a tense exchange with Bencic in the second set of their fourth round match at the China Open.
Bencic appeared to be annoyed by the Beijing crowd cheering for Gauff after she won a point, which she claimed continued when she was waiting to serve.
The situation continued when Bencic found herself a set and a break up, where she told Gauff ‘no-one’s talking to you’ and also made reference to her team.
Gauff was able to fight back to beat Bencic, and she has now given her verdict on the situation after having time to reflect.
Photo by Fred Lee/Getty ImagesCoco Gauff reveals what Belinda Bencic told her team as she gives first reaction to drama
Gauff beat Bencic, 4-6 7-6(4) 6-2, with the pair shaking hands after the match, but there were no signs of any warmth between the two.
With this fallout catching the attention of both spectators and journalists, Gauff was unsurprisingly asked about it in her post-match press conference.
In her response, Gauff revealed that Bencic allegedly told her team to ‘shut up’, which she did not like.
“Yeah, I mean, I knew she said something to my team, but I didn’t know exactly what,” said Gauff. “They told me she said, Shut up. I didn’t hear it, so I can only go based off of what they said.
“I mean, I guess she was upset about them cheering. For me, the stadium is silent, so you hear both teams. I played previous rounds, both my matches I could hear the other teams pretty loud and clear, because it is silent.
“It doesn’t bother me. I was telling her to be respectful. I’ve been nice with her team off court. We’ve been nice with each other. I just didn’t like that comment towards my team. Yeah, that was it. I mean, we moved on after that. I haven’t spoken to her since. She’s entitled to how she felt and I’m entitled to how I respond.”
After the initial incident took place, Gauff actually lost her serve by hitting three double faults.
However, Gauff was able to break straight back and win the second set, with the two-time Grand Slam champion explaining how she was able to use her annoyance to fuel her.
“Yeah, I mean, immediately after that, next game I was frustrated, threw three doubles,” said Gauff. “But after that I was just like, Okay, I don’t want to lose anymore after this point.
“I was able to just buckle down. I think it was almost good for me in a way. I think I can play sometimes a little bit better when I’m annoyed, more so not with myself but with something else.
“I don’t know, I think it did help me. But I’m not a confrontational person. I don’t like having confrontation on the court. I definitely don’t like that. I mean, it happens. It’s sport. Yeah, I’m happy that today went my way.”
Coco Gauff suggests the only other time she has been involved in drama with another player
One of the reasons that this incident is being talked about so much is because Gauff is not often embroiled in such situations.
Gauff was asked about how she handles these situations, and pointed to only really having one incident like this before.
The world number three did not name the player she had drama with, but revealed that the incident took place at the US Open.
This hint suggests that Gauff was referring to her first round match at the 2023 US Open against Laura Siegemund, when she was annoyed by how long her German opponent was taking and making her wait to serve.
Gauff also went back to her argument with Bencic, and appeared to try and squash any sort of conflict between the pair.
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve only had I think, like, two problems on tour,” added Gauff. “One was at US Open. That one was pretty famous with the player. Then today, this one.
“But yeah, I mean, how do I handle it? I’m not usually someone that will start it, but I’m very quick to respond. I don’t like people disrespecting other people. I felt like telling my team to shut up was not something nice. Especially they were cheering after I hit a winner. So yeah but…
“For me, I don’t know, I was just like, Okay, now I have to win the match, especially now after having that issue. I think for me it was more so a bit pettiness, just trying to win the match. The worst is if you have the confrontation and then you lose. It’s like a lose/lose. I just wanted to win to be on the winning side of things today.
“I obviously have a lot of respect for Belinda. She’s a great player, coming back and playing great tennis as a mom. Yeah, I obviously wish today didn’t happen, but it is what it is.”
Gauff has now qualified for the WTA Finals and will look to move on from this situation, as she looks to prepare to reach her third consecutive semifinal at the China Open.
Standing in the way of Gauff reaching the semifinals once again is Eva Lys, the world number 66 who has already beaten Elena Rybakina, McCartney Kessler and Guadalajara champion Iva Jovic.