Coco Gauff pinpoints the crucial moment which she thinks lost her the Miami Open final

Add as preferred source on Google

Coco Gauff, in the immediate aftermath of the Miami Open final, was incredibly magnanimous.

She offered her congratulations to Aryna Sabalenka and thanked her home crowd for pulling her through the tournament.

However, in her post-match press conference, it seemed like the disappointment of a defeat in the final had hit the 22-year-old.

Coco Gauff was far more critical when asked to discuss the match, but she offered a poised and analytical outlook on the result whilst speaking to reporters.

Coco Gauff left disappointed after Miami Open final

The American began by admitting that she was largely enthused by how her tactic worked against Sabalenka, taking the world number one to a deciding third set. Before last night, the Belarusian had yet to drop a set to anybody else on the entire WTA Tour apart from Elena Rybakina.

“Well, I’m sure tactically what I did well, I’ll probably try to redo it again,” she began, before highlighting the exact moment which she felt lost her the match.

Gauff added: “Yeah, I think I’m most disappointed about that first game in the third set of 30-Love, and with momentum from breaking her to win the set. I feel like that’s an important game to win in that moment, especially because I felt I wasn’t getting a lot of breaks, but I was making her play a lot of balls, considering how big her serve is.

“Yeah, I think that’s something I have to learn from in a moment. Yeah, I think in the second set I was just able to raise my level. I felt in the first | was letting her dictate a lot, which is tough because it’s Aryna. But I thought in the second I was doing a lot of dictating and playing a bit more aggressive, making deeper returns and things like that.

“Yeah, that first game, I’m a bit disappointed about.”

Sabalenka branded Gauff a ‘fighter’ after the Miami Open final, claiming she always knew that she would battle back.

Meanwhile, Gauff thanked Sabalenka for making her a better player, despite clearly suffering after such a crushing loss.

What’s next for Coco Gauff after the Miami Open?

Well, for Gauff and the rest of the WTA Tour, it’s now time for the clay.

Miami marks the end of the Sunshine swing and hard-court tennis for now, with this shift in surface often difficult, given the stark difference between how they both play.

However, for the two-time Grand Slam champion, she will likely relish this switch.

After all, last year she enjoyed a hugely successful clay-court swing, even if she lost more finals than she won.

Gauff went all the way in Madrid and Rome, but was beaten by Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini, respectively. However, at Roland Garros, she was not to be denied, dramatically defeating her Miami Open final conqueror in yet another classic.

It’s expected that Gauff’s first clay tournament will once again be in Stuttgart.