LAURA SIEGEMUND blasted fans for treating her "like a cheater" during her match with Coco Gauff on Monday night.
The German was Gauff's first round opponent as she looks to win her first grand slam title.
Siegemund, 35, made it awkward for the 19-year-old before eventually losing 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and 51 minutes.
The veteran frustrated the packed Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd with her slow play, consistently playing right on the edge of the serve clock.
She even appeared to adjust her usual service motion against Gauff, who notoriously likes to play fast, making it even slower and more pronounced than usual.
Gauff cut an increasingly frustrated figure during the match and complained to umpire Marijana Veljovic.
The crowd rallied behind the American – and against Siegemund.
During her on court interview following her win, Gauff was asked about what the match was like to play, awkwardly replying: "Slow."
In her post-match press conference, Siegemund broke down in tears as she expressed her own frustrations.
The qualifier ranked 121 launched into an impassioned speech, saying: "Would I enjoy it more if you played a great shot and the people would scream and give you the respect you deserved for your performance in that moment? Yes you enjoy it more.
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"And what do I play tennis for? I'm 35, what do I play tennis for? I made good money. You know I'm probably not going to reach my best rankings any more, not in singles.
"I play out there for the people. I play for the effort, I can still play. My body is giving me the chance to play a little bit more and I know there are fans out there that appreciate fighting and not giving up and just good sport."
As tears began to flow, she added: "I think it's the first time I'm crying in a press conference.
"You know as a tennis player you are a performer, you owe the people, you owe the kids that watch, you owe the people that buy tickets for a lot of money.
"And I'm just a bit, I mean… at the end of the day I go home and I look at myself and I can say I did a great job but did I get anything from the people for that? I didn't.
They treated me like I was a cheater
"Maybe it's not zero. Maybe it feels like zero right now, but it feels pretty much like a flat zero. Even less than zero because they treated me bad.
"They treated me like I was a cheater. Like I was trying sneaky ways to win this match or something.
"They treated me like I was a bad person. But you know, there are people throwing racquets, who are screaming, who are making bad gestures toward the audience.
"I did not, one moment in the whole match. And there was a lot of tension going on. Not one moment I did anything. I was just slow. And that's, you know, that's something in the rules.
"I get my time violation, that's fine, yeah."
Siegemund will be back in action at Flushing Meadows tomorrow when she begins her doubles campaign alongside Vera Zvonareva, with whom she won the title in 2020.
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She will also play in the mixed doubles event alongside Belgian Sander Gille.
Gauff, meanwhile, will take on 16-year-old phenom Mirra Andreeva on Arthur Ashe Stadium later today.
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