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Laura Siegemund burst into tears after her dramatic first-round match against Coco Gauff at the US Open, and sharply criticized the fans for their behavior.
Sixth-seeded Gauff defeated Siegemund in three sets on Monday, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. The German player proved to be much tougher than expected, and Gauff had to fight hard to win.
The match took a dramatic turn in the third set when Coco Gauff confronted the chair umpire, alleging that Laura Siegemund was taking too long to prepare for her returns and had avoided time violations throughout the match.
The crowd rallied behind the home favorite, booing Siegemund when she approached the umpire to plead her case. The umpire disagreed with the German, leading to her retreating in disappointment.
Laura Siegemund spoke at a press conference afterward, breaking down in tears while expressing her displeasure with the behavior of US Open fans. She stated that she was feeling low because the audience treated her as a "cheater" and a "bad person."
"At the end of the day I go home and I look at myself and I can say I did a great job, but did I get anything from people for that? I didn't. Maybe it's not zero. Maybe it feels like zero right now. But it feels pretty much like a flat zero, even less than zero because they treated me bad," the German said.
"Like they treated me like I was a cheater. Like I was like, trying sneaky ways to win this match or something. They treated me like I was a bad person," she added.
Siegemund went on to say that she didn't deserve such treatment because she didn't do anything wrong towards the fans, unlike other players.
"But you know there are people throwing racquets, screaming, who are like making bad gestures towards the audience. I did not one moment in the whole match and there was a lot of tension going on," she said.
"Not one moment I did anything. I was just slow. And that's you know, that's something in the rule. I get my time violation. That's fine, yeah," she added.
"I am not going to reach my best rankings anymore, I play out there for the people" - Laura Siegemund
Laura Siegemund then explained why she is still playing tennis at the age of 35. She said it was solely for the fans, given that she is unlikely to reach her peak ranking.
"What do I play tennis for? I am 35. What do I play tennis for? I made good money. I am not going to probably reach my best rankings any more. Not in singles. I play out there for the people. I play for the effort. I can still play. My body is giving me the chance to play a little bit more," Laura Siegemund said.
The German added that she believes there are still fans out there who appreciate her fight on the court and her never-say-die attitude. She also said she considers herself a performer as a tennis player who owes something to the serious enthusiasts.
"I know there are fans out there that appreciate fighting and not giving up and just good sport. I think it's the first time I'm crying in a press conference. I thought, you know you are, as a tennis player, you are a performer. You owe the people. You owe the kids that watch. You owe the people that buy tickets for a lot of money," Laura Siegemund said.
