Coco Gauff has admitted she wasn’t aware of one aspect of the Wimbledon curfew rule that came into play during her match against Belinda Bencic.
Gauff beat Bencic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the round of 16, securing the victory just two minutes before the 11pm curfew, before which they were given just one more game to play.
Action at the All England Club in London must stop at 23:00 BST, but the WTA superstar clinched match point at 22.58 BST.
And the American, who is into her first Wimbledon quarter-final, discussed the nerve-wracking scenario after the match.
What does Coco Gauff need to improve to become a major champion once again?
Coco Gauff didn’t know about Wimbledon curfew aspect
Gauff was asked by the media if she was trying not to think about the time during the match, to which she said: “Honestly, I was thinking about it the whole match.
“I don’t know if I went to it, but before the match, they told both of us at 11:00, da-da-da, the whole spiel.
“Then we started the first set, I think it was like 10:05. No, 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 of 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 because 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.”
And confirming if they told her that or not, she said: “They told us before the match that at 11:00 they would stop it.
“They didn’t tell us one more game or anything like that. If they did, I didn’t see it.”
Gauff was understandably very relieved to get the job done on the day, with more recovery time now available before her next test.
Coco Gauff matches Serena Williams record with latest Wimbledon win
While Gauff can now afford to rest somewhat, the 22-year-old will soon have to think about her next encounter at Wimbledon.
And that will arrive against fellow American Jessica Pegula, who just beat their compatriot Iva Jovic to reach her second quarterfinal at SW19.
Despite Pegula leading their head-to-head 5-3, Gauff should have an extra confidence boost after finally ending her Wimbledon shortcomings.
It represented the only Grand Slam where she had never reached the quarterfinals, but she has now completed the set, and is notably the youngest American to do so since Serena Williams in 2001.
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