The German tennis player Laura Siegemund was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 1000 tournament in Wuhan, China. She was only able to hold off against the American Coco Gauff for one sentence.
In the end everything happened very quickly: Laura Siegemund lost to the favorite Coco Gauff 3:6 and 0:6 in the quarterfinals of the 1000 tournament in Wuhan and was eliminated despite a fighting performance. The 37-year-old and 217-day-old German tennis player’s wear and tear over the past few days was clearly noticeable, especially in the second set. At 31 degrees and 76 percent humidity, her American opponent was not only the clearly superior player physically.
The match actually started well for Siegemund. She immediately managed a break to make it 1-0 because she got Gauff going with slow slice balls and a few stops and didn’t let her get into the rhythm of hitting. However, the German immediately received a rebreak to make it 1-1 because Siegemund’s serves could hardly cause her opponent any problems. Gauff managed to put enormous pressure on Siegemund with her hard and fast returns.
Overwhelmed Siegemund
But Siegemund continued to play persistently and acted in a way that only a few players on the WTA tour are able to do. Deep slice balls, high topspin shots, sudden net attacks, unexpected stops, hard baseline shots. Siegemund’s repertoire is unrivaled and repeatedly caused problems for Gauff, who never really knew what was coming next. Siegemund’s tactical approach seemed well thought out and coherent.
But: The approach of the younger generation is completely different. Constant pressure and high speed is the credo of the Gauff and Co generation. And this approach increasingly overwhelmed Siegemund. She received another break to make it 2:4. And from then on, Siegemund hardly managed to get Gauff into trouble at all. The 21-year-old secured the set 6:3.
No reserves of strength
The second round got off to a very bad start, Siegemund immediately suffered another break to make it 0-1, which apparently robbed her of her last reserves of strength. Gauff, who acted extremely solidly and confidently, was not deterred by her weakening opponent and continued to play at a high level.
Siegemund showed – as always – an impeccable fighting performance, but was clearly dominated by Gauff. Siegemund could no longer counter Gauff’s powerful game – and she didn’t manage to win a single game.