“And I said: ‘I don’t know - something this morning told me that it was going to happen this weekend but I thought it was going to be in the final’. And out of the court I was talking to Karolina and she said: ‘How did you recognise it was a protest so fast?’ “Immediately when it happened, I told the ref it was a protest. I didn’t think it would be in the semi-final,” she told ESPN after her match. “The crazy thing is that this morning I told myself: ‘I bet there is going to be a climate change protest in the final’. Gauff said she anticipated the protest on the morning of her semi-final. Gauff reaches US Open final: As it happened But hey, if that’s what they felt they needed to do to get their voices heard, I can’t really get upset at it.” Obviously I don’t want it to happen when I’m winning 6-4, 1-0, and I wanted the momentum to keep going. It was done in a peaceful way, so I can’t get too mad at it. “I always speak about preaching about what you feel and what you believe in. I know the stadium was, because it just interrupted entertainment. Would I prefer it not happening in my match? 100 per cent. I know the tournaments are doing things to do better for the environment. I think there are things we can do better. “I think that throughout history moments like this are definitely defining moments,” said the 19-year-old Gauff, who had just become the youngest woman to reach the US Open final since her idol Serena Williams in 1999. Yet she stopped short of criticising the protestors. During that heady sequence, the players fought out an all-court rally which – at 40 shots – was the longest of the tournament in either men’s or women’s draw.Īfter the match, Gauff admitted that she had anticipated a climate protest over the final stages of this tournament – but had expected that it would come in the final rather than the semi-final. Gauff was broken when she served for the match, and saw five match points come and go before she finally took her opportunity. There were some significant mistakes as well. Would her wristy swing – which sees her flick the strings through late, in a motion that requires perfect timing – hold up under pressure? To her credit, she refused to back off on that side, firing a succession of heavy, rearing crosscourt blows that made it difficult for Muchova to advance. Gauff’s forehand has always had the potential to self-destruct at any moment, and this was the question as we moved into the final stretch. The fans on Arthur Ashe Stadium all but combusted when one rally found both women run back to retrieve lobs before Gauff eventually snatched the point with a scorching forehand pass. From a shaky start, the match developed into a mighty spectacle. Meanwhile Gauff was also showing greater intent to get to the net, perhaps thinking that she needed to get there first in order to take that option away from Muchova. It was surely no coincidence that her shot-making improved from the back of the court as well. Having been both passive and erratic, she was now looking to come forward and dictate play with her volleys. Happily, though, Muchova used the unscheduled interruption to her advantage.Īfter Muchova’s coaches had given her a pep-talk during the break, she came back with a much clearer strategy. Play had been halted one game into the second set, after a first set that was blighted by an avalanche of unforced errors: Most of them had come from the racket of Gauff’s opponent, Czech No2 Karolina Muchova, who came out on court wearing a sleeve to support a sore right elbow.
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