Former world No 1 Andy Roddick has slammed the chair umpire who got into a row with Coco Gauff at the Dubai Tennis Championships for "lying about being wrong".
Gauff was up against Karolina Pliskova for a spot in the quarter-finals with the match going into a third-set decider.
But it was in the second set where Gauff got into a heated row with the chair umpire as she fought to stay in the match.
The American held the advantage heading into the seventh game having opened up a 4-2 lead.
Controversy ensued in the following game when a first serve from Coco Gauff was called out by chair umpire Pierre Bacchi after Pliskova had hit her return into the net.
Coco Gauff grew irate with the chair umpire
SKYSPORTS
Gauff successfully challenged the call that her serve was in fact in, but Bacchi ordered the point to be replayed as opposed to giving the American the point.
The 2023 US Open champion argued her case that Pliskova's return came before Bacchi had made the "out" call.
That led to a heated argument between the pair with Gauff repeatedly asking to speak with the tour supervisor.
Bacchi knocked back the request every time with the chair umpire refusing to back down from his stance.
Gauff could be seen at one point wiping away tears before returning to her side of the court to eventually replay the point, which she won and held serve before clinching the set.
The whole exchange left Roddick shocked, who praised the way his compatriot handled the whole situation.
"This is an absurd exchange for this umpire," Roddick tweeted.
"1. He’s completely wrong 2. He’s lying about being wrong. 3. She must have simply said 10 plus times, I’d like the supervisor.
"That’s not a judgement call. He simply needed to honour that normal request and call the supervisor.
"Coco did well here. That’s before her opponent also not acknowledging truth (which she certainly didn’t have to do)."
Coco Gauff asked for the supervisor repeatedly
SKYSPORTS
Gauff eventually came through the difficult test to make it through to the quarter-finals.
And the 19-year-old admitted the whole situation acted as motivation for her to get over the line.
"I think it just fueled me. I wanna watch back the video," she said.
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
Coco Gauff eventually won the game after replaying the point
SKYSPORTS
"I feel confident that it was after. It's ok. It's just one point. It happens in tennis.
"Players make mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. It kind of went upward from there for me.
"I think I was trying to tell myself to stay calm the next point. Sometimes, I get angry and I go for too much. I was just trying to let that not be the turning point for the set.
"Maybe I dragged it out a little longer than I needed to, but I did what I felt was best in that moment."
