Coco Gauff crashed out of Roland Garros yesterday, having been officially dethroned by Anastasia Potapova.
That leaves just one former champion left in the women’s draw, with the men’s side having already been culled of any previous Grand Slam winners.
For the first time in years, both sides of this event feel completely wide open, breeding a new level of excitement due to the wild unpredictability of it all.
For Coco Gauff, it was a tournament with plenty of promise, where she simply came unstuck against a very in-form player.
However, in her post-match press conference, the American actually pointed out a worrying sign she noticed in her own game during the match.
Coco Gauff’s worrying sign during Roland Garros defeat
Chatting to reporters, the 21-year-old explained how this loss to Potapova felt eerily similar to ones suffered in Madrid and Rome.
And, that déjà vu sensation was not a positive one, given Gauff seemingly felt like she was not progressing because of this.
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She admitted: “I think just I lost this… I feel like I lost the same way in Rome as I did here, which is not good.
“I think, I don’t know, you never want to lose the same way back to back times. And I did, and I feel like also in Madrid it was a similar thing, losing the same way, so, it’s one thing to lose, but I think today I didn’t, I mean, I competed, like, I fought my hardest, but I don’t think I played the way I wanted to in the crucial moments.”
It was clear that tension increased for Gauff in the crucial moments, particularly during that decisive second-set tiebreak.
She will be keen to put these issues right heading into the grass-court season.
Meanwhile, Potapova spoke glowingly about Gauff straight after her Roland Garros win.
Coco Gauff discusses her serve ahead of Wimbledon
Speaking of Wimbledon, another reporter actually asked Gauff about her chances, and if she feels a boost with a seemingly repaired serve.
After all, suffering just three double faults during this loss marked a huge improvement, although she naturally remained unsatisfied.
The two-time major champion actually argued: “Yeah, I mean, obviously, the service is more consistent, although I’m not holding serve, which is the issue, I guess. Who cares how many serves I make in the court if the result is still the same?
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“So, um, I guess, I mean, obviously the grass, I think, will help a little bit more, but I think I could have served more aggressive at some points and did more patterns that I work on in practice today.
“I just didn’t, so yes, it’s more consistent and I have a lot of trust now in my serve, but at the same time, I got broken a lot of times, and I have to correct that.”
