VIDEO. The world's third-ranked player clashed with the referees in Dubai and came close to tears

On February 21st, the world's third-ranked tennis player, Coco Gauff (WTA 3), advanced to the quarterfinals of the hardcourt WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai, UAE.

In the round of 16, the American star defeated Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic, WTA 36) with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour and 54 minutes. Gauff interrupted Pliskova's winning streak, which consisted of 11 matches.

In the seventh game of the second set, when Coco widened her lead to 5-2 on serve, she was dismayed by a contentious decision from the umpire in favor of Pliskova.

The 19-year-old tennis player challenged a serve, after which the ball landed in the correct square, but the umpire called it "out," and Pliskova failed to return it to the court. Chair umpire Pierre Bacchi did not award Gauff the point. Instead, he granted her another first serve, stating that the line judge's error interfered with Karolina's reception.

Coco, infuriated by this decision, rushed to the umpire and claimed that her serve was called a fault after her opponent had already made a return that hit the net.

"You called it after she hit! Yes, you did! When she hit, the ball was already in the net, and you said it," Coco declared.

However, Bacchi maintained that he immediately called it out.

"Call the supervisor. I won't play until you call the supervisor. I'll ask her the rule," Gauff said. "You don't know the answer. My right is to ask questions. You can't tell me the rule. If I question the rule, you have to call the supervisor. It's my right. Call her! Can you listen to me without interrupting? Can you not interrupt me for two seconds?"

On the verge of tears, the American eventually had to resume the match after the umpire refused to budge.

"You'll owe me. After the match, when you watch the video, you'll apologize," she said, holding back tears.

In the next round, Gauff will face Anna Kalinskaya, who eliminated Alona Ostapenko.

In the quarterfinals of the Dubai tournament, Iga Swiatek also advanced.

VIDEO. The world's third-ranked player clashed with the referees in Dubai and came close to tears