"You will be treated like the enemy... you are" - Influencer Rachel Stuhlmann reacts to Laura Siegemund slamming US Open crowd after Coco Gauff defeat
Laura Siegemund broke down in the press conference after losing to home favorite Coco Gauff in the opening round of the US Open, claiming the audience treated her like a "cheater".
Sixth-seeded Gauff defeated Siegemund in three sets at Arthur Ashe Stadium, with the score reading 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. In the third set, the World No. 6 confronted the chair umpire for not calling the numerous alleged time violations by Siegemund. As expected, the crowd rallied behind the home favorite and booed the German.
During the post-match press conference, Laura Siegemund expressed her disappointment with the US Open audience. She said that the fans 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.
Top tennis influencer Rachel Stuhlmann, however, took to Twitter to slam Siegemund's remarks about the crowd, claiming they made no sense. She further claimed that the crowd will always cheer for the home favorite in any tournament and that the opposition player will always be treated as an enemy.
"I'm sorry, but this makes no sense. When you face a top player in their country in a slam, you will be treated like the enemy. You are. They are there to watch you get rattled. And cheer on your demise," tweeted Stuhlmann.
"Laura Siegemund, she's not an easy opponent" - Coco Gauff after reaching 2R at US Open
In the on-court interview after the dramatic opening-round clash at the US Open, Coco Gauff was asked to describe the controversial match. Gauff took a sarcastic jab at Siegemund, before expressing her happiness for having progressed to the next round.
“Slow,” Gauff said with a laugh.
“It was a tough match, I wasn't playing my best tennis. Laura, she's not an easy opponent, she fights to the end and that's what she did today. And you know I was able to overcome a lot of adversities so I'm happy with how I played today or happy how I managed to get through it,” she added.
Gauff also thanked the home crowd for their support throughout the high-intensity encounter, saying:
“Thank you guys and thank you New York for getting me through this match.”
Coco Gauff will next face 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the second round of the 2023 US Open. The Russian teenager defeated Australia's Olivia Gadecki 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round.