Fans recently reacted to Coco Gauff winning her fourth-round match at the Wimbledon Championships at the 11th hour against Belinda Bencic. The American youngster clinched a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win on Sunday.
Gauff and Bencic locked horns at what was the latest start in Wimbledon history, at 8.40 pm. Gauff dropped the first set, but gained her rhythm to bag the victory in two hours and 18 minutes, just two minutes before the 11 pm curfew. She celebrated her win by pointing at her wrist.
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In a press conference after her win, Gauff said that she was trying to win the games quickly as she was worried that the match would be stopped and continued the next day.
“We started the third set at 10:05. It should be enough to finish this set, but I don’t know. Then we had a couple long games. The next thing you know, it’s 10:45, and I was like, Oh, my goodness. I did not want to come out here tomorrow. I was just trying to get up a break and stay up a break ’cause I was like, I’d rather come out here on serve up a break instead of the other way.”
“Yeah, I didn’t realize that once we started the last game that, however long it took, we would be allowed to finish. I thought literally at 11:00 it was wraps. It was good to know for next time that I don’t have to rush as much.”
Few of Gauff’s fans were impressed by her last-minute antics.
“She’s iconic for this reaction,” a fan wtote.
However, a few criticized her for being overconfident, writing:
“So cringe from Coco Gauff.”
A fan rallied behind Gauff, saying she earned the right to celebrate it.
“Cringe? It was almost curfew. She won just in the knick of time.”
“Here are a few more reactions:
“Loved it. She was on a mission.”
“Getting a little cocky Coco,”
“She was doing that because she beat the curfew. That was going to be the last game of the night, both players to come back and finish tomorrow.”
Coco Gauff reflects on her dramatic win
Coco Gauff wasn’t aware of the rule that once the final game starts before 11:00 pm, the players were allowed to finish it. In a post-match interview on court, Gauff said that she was constantly watching the clock to finish the match before 11:00 pm.
She tried to hit bigger serves and more aggressive shots. Gauff stated that it was the most dramatic finish of her career.
“I was looking at the clock the last service game,” Gauff said. “I was like, ‘I gotta hit some big serves and big shots’. Honestly that match point I was going for a serve-and-volley because I was like, ‘I need to end the point’.
“This was probably the most dramatic finish. I’ve never had to race against time. Playing tennis, we’re used to not having a clock. But honestly, today I felt the pressure.”
Coco Gauff will face seed No. 4 Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinal round.
Edited by Janhavi Shinde