Coco Gauff failed to convert a match point during the third-set tiebreak against Karolina Muchova in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
The ball sat up nicely for Gauff, inviting her to hit a simple forehand to either side of Muchova.
But instead, Gauff chose to play a drop shot, which didn’t get over the net.
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She has now spoken about the decision that cost her a place in the Wimbledon final.
Coco Gauff wonders if she needed a loss from match point to become as great as Jannik Sinner and Roger Federer
During her latest Wimbledon press conference, Gauff spoke for the first time about her match point error.
“There are a lot of positives. Obviously got super close. Definitely going to think about the second, third, last point, whatever, but overall I think it was a positive tournament for me,” she said.
“It’s tough to digest, but I don’t know, I’m happy.”
She was later asked how she plans to ‘get over’ the incident.
“I mean, I’m going to think about it tonight,” said Gauff.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know if I’ve ever lost a match after having a match point. If I did, I don’t remember the last time. I don’t know how long it will take me.
“I don’t think that long, honestly. I think, yeah, right after I was [feeling] a lot of emotions right after the match. But now I’m just, like, one decision away, maybe I’m sitting in this press conference in a different mood.
“I mean, I look at Roger [Federer] lost match points here, Jannik [Sinner] obviously at Roland Garros.
“Every great champion has this happen in their career. Maybe this is something I need to be on their level.”
Roger Federer failed to convert match points during his legendary Wimbledon final defeat to Novak Djokovic in 2019, and Jannik Sinner suffered the same fate against Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s Roland Garros final.
Gauff is understandably trying to put a positive spin on this, although it will take some time for both her and the media to move on from the match point mistake.
She had already been asked to explain what went through her mind during the match point.
“I mean, there’s one thing to be, like, why play a dropshot, but then I think how many points I won off the dropshot,” she said.
“Yes, people who don’t watch tennis are going to be like, Why did you do that? At the end of the day, that’s the choice I made. Was it the right one in that moment? Maybe not. But then also, if I make it, everyone’s going to say how clutch of a shot that was.
“I think that’s just tennis. You lose some points off margins. Honestly, the return came back like, in a tricky place for me. The bounce kind of caught me off guard. I just panicked a little bit.
“I think it just takes moments like this to learn from, have more of a clear, concise plan of what I want to do.
“At the end of the day, I left it all out there. My only regret, or I don’t have any regrets. I think it’s just obviously points I want to make better decisions on. But that’s how you learn and become a better player.”
Gauff will be keen to bounce back from this incident as soon as possible, but how did Federer and Sinner, the two players she mentioned, react to their match point failures?
Roger Federer never won another Grand Slam after failing to convert match point at Wimbledon
Federer never returned to another Grand Slam final after losing to Djokovic in 2019.
Having been a point away from a 21st major title, Federer retired three years later on 20.
Sinner, on the other hand, did bounce back from his heartbreaking defeat, winning the Wimbledon title shortly after.
However, having lost in the second round of this year’s French Open, he has yet to lift the Roland Garros title, the last major he needs to complete his Career Grand Slam.
Sinner could live to regret those French Open championship point misses, just as Gauff might at Wimbledon.
