Coco Gauff stunned by Donna Vekic in dramatic singles clash at ...

t wasn’t supposed to be this way.

But, as it began to cook at Roland-Garros, the temperature climbing to the mid-30s, Coco Gauff’s (USA) maiden Olympic singles campaign wilted away in the sun and ended in a 7-6 (7), 6-2 third-round defeat to Donna Vekic (CRO) at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Tuesday (30 July).

“I mean in the first set I think I just wasn't aggressive,” Gauff told Olympics.com, looking visibly exasperated by the way the match turned out after a trying 1 hour, 58 minutes. “I had too many set points and was too passive on them.”

Gauff - who was forced to withdraw from Tokyo 2020 after testing positive for Covid - was left to rue a lot, particularly in the first set.

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Coco Gauff argues a call in the second set - to no avail.

Picture by ReutersCoco Gauff: Tempers boil

The world No. 2 raced out to a 5-2 lead but Vekic, the tenacious 13th seed from Croatia, would not go away.

Gauff had set point, but Vekic, who seemed to come alive as it got hotter and hotter on the court, forced deuce - and capitalised with a screaming backhand.

Vekic would go on to win four of the next five games and in the tiebreak, saved two more set points to turn the tables on Gauff and go up a set on USA’s flag-bearer.

Gauff’s frustrations reached a boiling point in the second set when she went down 4-2. The 20-year-old appeared convinced the Spanish umpire was dead wrong about a decision, arguing passionately through a language barrier for close to 10 minutes.

The fans let Gauff know it was time to move on by booing her back into competition, but the damage was done as she could not claw her way back - as Vekic had to do in the first set.

Gauff barely had time to blow off steam as she had to regroup for her mixed doubles match in a few hours with Taylor Fritz.

“It’s all a blur,” she said, in fewer words than usual to most of the media, understandably so. “I’m looking forward to playing doubles and that’s all I’m focused on.”