Paris Olympics Day 4: Gau fumes over call in upset loss to Vekic
The scene felt all too familiar to Coco Gauff. An officiating decision she was sure was wrong. A chair umpire who wouldn’t listen. Tears streaming down her cheeks. And, most disappointing of all, a loss, this time at the Paris Games.
Even the site was the same: Court Philippe Chatrier was where the reigning US Open champion was eliminated in the third round at the Summer Games by Donna Vekic of Croatia 7-6 (7), 6-2.
That’s also the main stadium used annually for the French Open, where Gauff found herself in a nearly identical dispute over a call while being defeated by eventual champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals last month.
“There’s been multiple times this year where that’s happened to me — where I felt like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court,” Gauff said afterward, renewing a call for video review to be used in tennis, as it is in many other professional sports.
Gauff was the female flag bearer for the United States during the opening ceremony on Friday.
Also in tennis, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz advanced into the doubles quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 10-2 match tiebreaker victory over Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands.
No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek defeated No. 52 Wang Xiyu of China 6-2, 6-4. Roberts tops BMX qualifying PARIS — Five-time world champion Hannah Roberts of the United States topped qualifying in the freestyle BMX competition at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, while reigning gold medalist Charlotte Worthington of Britain failed to advance to the finals.
Roberts, who finished second to Worthington in the discipline’s debut at the Tokyo Games, had the best single score of 91.80 points and the best two-run average of 91.45, sending her into Wednesday’s finals as the No. 1 seed. She was joined by American teammate Perris Benegas, who had the unenviable first qualifying position but wound up fourth.
In the men’s competition, Britain’s Kieran Reilly was the top qualifier with a two-run average of 91.21 points. Marcus Christopher of the U.S. was second at 89.48 and defending champion Logan Martin of Australia third with 89.39.
US men’s 3x3 team falls
The US men’s debut in Olympic 3x3 basketball at the Paris Games was one to forget.
The Americans fell to Serbia 2214 on Tuesday night in their opening game of these Olympics after failing to qualify for the Tokyo Games.
Marko Brankovic had eight points and Strahinja Stojacic added seven, including a 2-pointer that ended it with 2:34 remaining, to lead Serbia, the bronze medal finisher in Tokyo.
The US brought in former NBA player Jimmer Fredette after not qualifying for the last Olympics. But he managed just four points in the rout.
Kareem Maddox made a 2-pointer with about three minutes remaining to cut the lead to 18-14. But Dejan Majstorovic made 2-point shot before Dylan Travis missed for the US to set up Stojacic’s game-winner.
Serbia didn’t miss a 1-point shot, making all 12 attempts, while the US made just 10 of 16 of those opportunities, including an a miss by Fredette on a wide-open layup.
Maddox had six points to lead the United States. Canyon Barry, who works as a scientist for a defense contractor, added two points and a rebound. He is the son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry.
US women’s 3x3 team loses
The defending champion US women lost to Germany 17-13 on Tuesday in the opening game of pool play in 3x3 basketball at the Paris Olympics.
Hailey Van Lith led the US with six points. But she was struggling after the game, and she said she believes the heat exacerbated an illness she already was dealing with.
“I think I actually have a cold,” she said. “I think it was from the rain in the opening ceremony. So, I think it’s a combination of that, but I’ll be fine. I played through it in the NCAA Tournament, so there’s nothing that’s going to take me out.”
Sonja Greinacher had five points and six rebounds for Germany. Marie Reichert added five points.
The US raced out to a 5-0 lead, but Germany scored the next six points, including three from Elisa Mevius.
Van Lith made a layup before dishing to Dearica Hamby for another basket to cut Germany’s advantage to 11-10 with about three minutes to go.
Greinacher made a 2-point shot for Germany before another basket by Van Lith got the US within one again with about 90 seconds remaining.
This time, Germany scored the next four points on two each from Greinacher and Reichert.
Heat wave
After enduring the rain in the opening ceremony, athletes now are having to deal with the heat.
Most of France is under heat warnings, with temperatures in Paris hitting 36 degrees Celsius (97 Fahrenheit), the national weather agency said. Air conditioning is far less common in French homes, shops and restaurants than in places like the United States.
The heat was even worse in the south, including the region around the Mediterranean cities of Marseille and Nice that are hosting Olympic competitions like soccer and sailing. It was as hot as 105 F in parts of southern France.
Before winning the gold Tuesday, Biles posted a video on Instagram while struggling with the lack of air conditioning.
“Don’t come for me about my hair,” Biles wrote on Instagram before the gymnastics team final. “IT WAS DONE but bus has NO AC and it’s like 9,000 degrees. Oh & a 45 minutes ride.”