Coco Gauff has given her verdict after Aryna Sabalenka was heard telling a tennis fan to ‘shut up’ during the Miami Open final.
Gauff made unwanted career history against Sabalenka, after losing in the final of the Miami Open 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
This enabled Sabalenka to make history, as she became just the fifth woman in history to complete the Sunshine Double.
Although the final ended in joy for Sabalenka, she was clearly not happy with one tennis fan in particular during the Miami Open final.
Aryna Sabalenka claims tennis fan was ‘wrong’ after outburst
The crowd were very involved for the women’s singles final at the Miami Open, with it being a sell-out of 16,830 people.
While this created a real atmosphere for the final, there were moments when some fans would call out in between points.
This was particularly prevalent during the third set, when Sabalenka told a screaming tennis fan to ‘shut up’.
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Sabalenka apologised for this in her post-match speech, while still maintaining that they were both in the wrong, and she reiterated this in her post-match press conference.
While this was a frustration for Sabalenka, she made it clear that her overall experience of the fans at the Miami Open was positive, highlighting the support she received from fans of Brazil, where her now fiancé Georgios Frangulis is from.
“Yeah, it was a bit of frustration over there,” said Sabalenka. “I apologised, but at the same time she was also wrong, but probably I should have controlled myself a little bit better. Actually when I screamed that I felt so relieved and so loose, and even if she would keep yelling I wouldn’t hear her.
“I really felt that people were super respectful to me and they were cheering for great tennis. Of course they were supporting Coco, I knew what was going to happen in this match, but I got the huge Brazilian community cheering for me and I felt a lot of support.
“I really enjoyed the atmosphere, and like the people cheering for their player, that was incredible and to see the full stadium it was also something incredible and I really enjoyed my time out there today.”
Sabalenka later added, “Yeah, what a month really tough to keep up with this month in my life. Dog, engagement, sunshine double. That sounds surreal right!
“Once again, thank you so much for the Brazilian support, it’s been incredible to feel this support and that’s been something I’ve been dreaming a lot in my life, to go in these big stadiums and to feel support and to feel this atmosphere, so right now I feel like I’m living this dream life.”
Coco Gauff claims the fans at the Miami Open have been ‘great’
Gauff was also asked about the tennis fans after the match, as she claimed they were ‘great’ for her throughout the tournament.
The American also wanted to praise a number of other staff members who made the tournament ‘special for her’.
“Yeah, I think the crowd has been great for me this week,” Gauff said in her own press conference. “Not even [just] the crowd, just the staff around the grounds. The amount of people, janitors, locker room attendees, the people who make my pasta, the amount of support I’ve gotten this week is what makes this tournament special.
“Even people coming up to me and saying ‘I’ve prayed for you’, like I don’t get that anywhere else in the world. You know, these are real people, hard workers, just also seeing how much joy they have from seeing me.
“There’s a couple, I won’t name any, but they ask me to sign their balls and take pictures and they say they’re not supposed to and I’ll say let’s go in the closet somewhere and take it, because it doesn’t bother me personally, but just seeing how excited they got from that is just what makes this experience all worth it and that’s what I was feeling post-match.
“Even now just walking over here, again staff just being so kind and saying ‘We are proud of you’ and things like that, you walk away and you’re like ‘Okay, how can I not be proud of this experience when hundreds of people are telling me that’, so I’m grateful for this tournament.”
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Although she was unable to win the title, Gauff will be rewarded for her best ever result at the Miami Open by rising back up to world number three in the WTA rankings.
Gauff will now have a few weeks off, before she returns to competition for the clay court season, which she will begin at the WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart, where Sabalenka will also be playing.
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