Coco Gauff says she is "not a confrontational player" but admits she wasn't happy with what Belinda Bencic had to say about her team.
As Gauff was fighting to take the second set of their Beijing round-of-16 match and force a third set, Bencic started to complain about the crowd but also claimed that the American's team was disrupting her.
When Im going to the line ready to serve, they dont need to cheer," the Swiss told the chair umpire.
Gauff interjected by coming to the defense of her team, only to be told by her rival: "No ones talking to you. Shes talking to me, okay! Im too old for these mind games!
After the incident, the second-seeded American went on to come back and win 4-6 7-6 (4) 6-2.
Gauff: I don't like confrontations on the court and I didn't like that
"It doesn't bother me. I was telling her to be respectful. I've been nice with her team off court. We've been nice with each other. I just didn't like that comment towards my team. Yeah, that was it. I mean, we moved on after that. I haven't spoken to her since. She's entitled to how she felt and I'm entitled to how I respond," the 21-year-old said.
"I'm not a confrontational person. I don't like having a confrontation on the court. I definitely don't like that. I mean, it happens. It's sport. Yeah, I'm happy that today went my way."
For Gauff, the most important thing is that she won and put herself three wins away from defending her Beijing title. The American now leads the head-to-head against Bencic 4-2.
Gauff plays against Eva Lys for a place in the Beijing semifinal.
