Roland Garros, Paris
CNN
—

Coco Gauff seemed to be cruising against Donna Vekić in her third-round singles match at the Paris Olympics. But suddenly, she wasn’t.

Gauff was just one point away from winning the first set at Roland Garros, but had to watch the match slip away from her and eventually lost 7-6(7) 6-2 to Court Philippe-Chatrier.

The most tense moment of the match came midway through the second set, when Gauff burst into tears during a heated exchange with chair umpire Jaume Campistol.

A line call on Gauff’s baseline was initially ruled inadmissible, but Campistol overturned the decision, giving Vekić a crucial break point. Play was then paused as the American argued vehemently that the point should be replayed, as the call was made just before she struck the ball.

The supervisor also came onto the field and the ensuing debate lasted five minutes, with Gauff wiping tears from her eyes. Boos and jeers were heard from the crowd when play eventually resumed.

“This year it’s happened to me several times, which makes me feel like I always have to stand up for myself on the field,” she later told reporters.

“And I think in tennis we should have a VR system (video review) because these kind of points are important. Usually they apologize afterwards, so it’s quite frustrating when the sorry doesn’t help you when the match is over.”

Gauff immediately created three break points in the next game, but Vekić controlled the opening and saved the last point with a perfect lob, after which he took a 4-2 lead in the second set.

From that moment on, the Croatian had a firm grip on the match and she decided the match, meaning she had to face either Maria Sakkari from Greece or Marta Kostyuk from Ukraine in the quarter-finals.

“Donna played well,” Gauff said. “She’s played well at Wimbledon so far, so I knew it was going to be a tough match. I think I had a lot of chances in the first set, and I felt like if I could have won that set, maybe it would have helped me in the momentum of the second.”

The match was played in the blazing midday sun, with temperatures expected to reach 35 degrees Celsius in Paris. Factoring in humidity, it felt like 40 degrees Celsius – the hottest day of the Olympics so far.

On Court Philippe-Chatrier, sun hats and fans were worn en masse and an automatic stadium announcement between matches reminded spectators to drink water and take regular breaks to escape the heat.

Gauff, the world number two and a formidable contender for a women’s singles medal, took an early lead in the first set, but after Vekić saw a set point saved, she lost her advantage when a forehand went wide.

As the set progressed, Vekić played the shot of the match at that moment, returning a smash past her opponent. But Gauff responded in similar fashion in the next game, returning a Vekić smash with a well-timed backhand while her opponent was stranded at the net.

Both players had set points in the tiebreak, but it was Vekić who took her chance and raised her game when it mattered, taking a one-set lead in just over an hour.

Vekić, who was a Wimbledon semi-finalist earlier this month, lost a double fault early in the second set, but she managed to win the next five games in a row to secure victory in tough conditions.

“It was very, very tough out there, the conditions, when we warmed up this morning and the roof was up,” Vekić told reporters. “It took me a couple of games to adjust; it was very hot. The ball was flying a bit, but then I got into the rhythm and it went pretty well.”

Gauff later explained that the disagreement with the umpire in the second set had no impact on the outcome of the match.

“I’m not going to sit here and say that one point affected the outcome of today because I was already on the losing side before that point came,” she said.

The 20-year-old, who was the flag bearer for Team USA at the opening ceremony, still has to compete in the mixed and women’s doubles events in Paris, where she won her opening match against Jessica Pegula on Saturday.