Coco Gauff defeated Claire Liu, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, in the third round of Wimbledon.
The two-time Grand Slam champion was forced into a third set again, but prevailed in a decider to set up a mouth-watering fourth-round clash against Belinda Bencic.
However, as is so often the case, Gauff’s serve was a topic of discussion after the match, having made just one ace and six double faults against the world number 146.
Give us your one crazy prediction for the second week of Wimbledon!
During her post-match press conference, Gauff shared an update on her serve and how it is working at Wimbledon this year.
Coco Gauff admits she didn’t serve as well as she did earlier in the tournament during latest Wimbledon win
Gauff was asked how she was feeling about her serve and her game in general after reaching the last 16.
“I mean, I don’t know. I feel like I played great in some moments and not so great in others. I guess that’s tennis. I definitely would like to play a little bit better,” she said.
“But I don’t know, I feel like it’s just because this isn’t a surface I’m always comfortable on. I’m really just trying to learn and see what works for me.
“I feel like today I didn’t necessarily stick to the things that were working to get me the lead.
“Then the serve, I mean, I was going for my serve today.
“I wasn’t quite landing them as I did in the first match. I had a bunch of aces in the first match. I also played a better returner. I couldn’t always just go hard body because she was catching them really well. I think I can put in some more variety on my serve, for sure.
“But then again, my serve did get me out of some tough games, too. I think it’s just one of those days that I have faith in my serve, I’ve been serving well, and I just need to maybe mix it up a little bit more.”
Coco Gauff’s serving stats at Wimbledon so far
| Match | Aces | Double faults | 1st Serve % | Win % on 1st Serve | Win % on 2nd Serve |
| 1R vs Tamara Korpatsch (Two sets) | 3 | 2 | 67% | 88% | 82% |
| 2R vs Solana Sierra (Three sets) | 10 | 5 | 54% | 78% | 57% |
| 3R vs Claire Liu (Three sets) | 1 | 6 | 61% | 72% | 58% |
Coco Gauff’s average serving stats at Wimbledon so far
- Aces – 4.7
- Double faults – 4.3
- 1st Serve % – 60.7%
- Win % on 1st Serve – 79.3%
- Win % on 2nd Serve – 65.7%
After an excellent serving performance in her dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over Tamara Korpatsch in the first round, Gauff made 11 double faults in her next two matches.
Her win % on second serve and first serve has also dipped, and after an ace-heavy second-round performance, Gauff only made one against Liu in round three.
Despite the dip in form, Gauff agreed that going for her serves feels ‘liberating’.
“Yeah, for sure,” she said.
“I mean, there were no serves today that I was hitting that I was, like, I need to get it in.
“I was trying to just be aggressive to a big target on the second serves. The first, I was going for my shots.
“I think it’s better when I’m playing that way. I think the girl gets fewer looks on my serve. I’m also getting more free points.
“I definitely think my first-serve percentage could have been higher today. Maybe I could have mixed in some more slices, just different targets instead of always going big.
“I definitely do think that when I’m going big, I do have faith that I’m going to connect eventually, because I know I can always get my serve in.”
Gauff then looked ahead to the second week of Wimbledon, suggesting how she will approach her serves.
“I feel like most of the time when my first serve does go in, I’m getting a weaker reply,” she said.
“I think it’s much easier to start the points off when you’re on the offensive than if you just get it in and you’re hoping the girl misses.
“At this level, it’s not going to happen, especially now in the second week.”
Gauff knows that she can’t be cautious in the second week, where she will look to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time.
Coco Gauff must improve to stand a chance of beating Belinda Bencic in the fourth round
The 22-year-old has enjoyed success against Bencic in the past, and leads their head-to-head 5-2; however, they have yet to meet on grass.
Bencic is an elite grass-court player and reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon 12 months ago.
If Gauff delivers a performance similar to what we saw in the second and third rounds, she will be heading out of the competition.
To beat Bencic, she will need to serve well and improve all other areas of her game.
Whether she can do that remains to be seen.
Gauff and Bencic will battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals on Sunday, July 5.
