Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic met each other at the Round of 16 of the China Open; however, what became the centre of attention was their explosive encounter, which went viral on the internet. Meanwhile, the USA tennis sensation has replied to the incident and stated that she just wanted the Swiss star to be respectful towards her team.
Coco Gauff ‘didn’t like’ how Belinda Bencic behaved during the China Open confrontation
During a post-match conference, Gauff, addressing the incident, which has been making rounds on the internet, said:
"It doesn't bother me.”
Gauf continued:
“I was telling her to be respectful. I've been nice with her team off court. We've been nice to each other. I just didn't like that comment towards my team. Yeah, that was it.”
The 21-year-old added:
“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.”
The two-time Grand Slam champion said that she doesn't like confronting on the court and it goes beyond her personality. During the encounter against Bencic, the Swiss professional complained about the crowd but also claimed that the American player’s team was disrupting her. When the American player interrupted, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics champion responded with, “No one’s talking to you. She’s talking to me, okay! I’m too old for these mind games!”
Meanwhile, it seems like the incident motivated the second-seeded American player as she came back to defeat her opponent 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2. Gauff will now face Eva Lys for a place in the Beijing semifinal.