Gauff's Olympic singles dreams over at Paris 2024, Vekic makes history
Coco Gauff’s Olympic singles dreams at Paris 2024 are over after she fell victim to an inspired Donna Vekic in the searing sunshine on Wednesday.
Vekic won 7-6(7) 6-2 to become only the second Croatian player to reach the quarter-finals of the women’s singles at the Olympic Tennis Event after Iva Majoli, who reached the last eight at Atlanta 1996.
It continues an incredible month for the 28-year-old Croat, who progressed to her first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon earlier in July.
She has beaten two former Grand Slam champions en route to the last eight at Paris 2024 - seeing off two former US Open champions in Bianca Andreescu and Gauff following her opening round win over Italian Lucia Bronzetti - and crowd support gave her a significant boost on a sweltering day in Paris.
"I think that was maybe one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever experienced in my life," said Vekic. "You don’t really get that during Roland Garros. It was very special. They were definitely pushing me in the first set. In the end it was tough conditions. It was hot for us playing, but I’m sure it was hot for them watching as well."
Vekic overturned a 5-2 deficit to win the opening set and broke for a 4-2 lead after a pivotal moment in the second set when a line judge called the ball out, according to Gauff, before she had struck her reply. The ball turned out to be in, Gauff missed, Vekic broke, before a visibly emotional Gauff remonstrated with the umpire and then supervisor, Clare Wood.
“I can’t say I would have won the match if I had won that point," Gauff conceded later, "but for sure being down a break, whereas maybe replaying that point can make a big difference in that game.
"But I’m not going to sit here and say one point affected the result today because I was already on the losing side of things before that happened.”
“Donna played well," she continued. "She’s been playing well throughout Wimbledon till now so I knew it would be a tough match. I had a lot of chances in the first. If I had clinched that set it might have helped my momentum in the second.”
Gauff, who has clear ambitions to win a medal ("a medal is the main goal") at Paris 2024, shifted her focus to the doubles, alongside Jessica Pegula, and mixed doubles with Taylor Fritz.
Though she had most of Tuesday to stew on her singles defeat, she bounced back alongside Fritz to beat Argentine duo Nadia Podoroska and Maximo Gonzalez in the last match of the day on Court Simonne-Mathieu.
"It was a tough match today, but you know I want to come home with something," she said.