Coco Gauff searching for ‘other opinions’ after US Open exit
Coco Gauff has seen her 10-match winning streak come to an end at the hands of compatriot Emma Navarro, with the 2023 champion looking to make some changes after hitting 60 unforced errors.
Gauff was beaten by Navarro, 6-3 4-6 6-3, to bring an end to the 20-year-old’s US Open title defence.
This was the second consecutive Grand Slam tournament where Gauff has been beaten by Navarro, having lost at the same stage at Wimbledon.
The difference was that Gauff won a set in New York, but was hampered by 60 unforced errors and 19 double faults.
Gauff gave herself credit for her fighting spirit, but was very aware of the serving mishaps, “I fought really hard today. Overall I think I played well for the most part.
“I just didn’t take care of my serve, so that was the biggest difference. Too many free points on my serve. Obviously I go down on my left side a lot on my serve, and it’s something I’m aware of, but it’s tough in the moment to I guess try not to do it. I was just trying to commit to it and just stay calm.”
2 – Emma Navarro is the youngest American player to make the quarter-finals in Wimbledon and at the US Open in a year since Serena Williams in 2004. Jewel.#USOpen | @usopen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/uEMnk3PYMz
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) September 1, 2024
World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka had also been struggling with her serve back in 2022, but employed a mechanical coach before going onto win the Australian Open.
And Gauff was asked in her post-match press conference about whether she would consider doing a similar thing, “I definitely want to get other opinions because I think it’s sometimes more of an emotional, mental thing because if I go out on the practice court right now, I would make, like, 30 serves in a row. I’ve done it before.”
Last year during the North American hard court season, Gauff won 18 matches on the way to the Washington, Cincinnati and US Open titles.
However, this year she has won just four matches, but seemed to dismiss this being related to the busy schedule due to the Paris Olympics.
“I know this wasn’t a great couple of months,” said Gauff. “I felt like physically and mentally ready, but for sure I think in Toronto and Cincy it was a little bit mentally draining, those tournaments having to switch surfaces. It’s tough when you’re trying to find your game. You’re just used to maybe a certain type of year.”
She continued, “But coming into this, I didn’t feel any exhaustion. I was actually really excited to play. But that’s something you have to deal with every four years, so it’s not that big of a deal. Every Olympics I can qualify for and I’m healthy, I’m definitely going to play. So I don’t blame it on that.”
As a result of Gauff’s US Open defeat, she will now fall outside of the top five in the rankings, taking a few weeks off before returning to action at the WTA 1000 event in Beijing later this month.
Inside the baseline…
This defeat felt like it was coming, given Coco Gauff’s form coming into this tournament. However, a lot of praise has to be given to Gauff for her fighting spirit, as although her level was not always there she kept fighting until the end to try and keep her title defence going. Another thing to praise Gauff for is her accountability, as she was not willing to blame anything for this defeat and is looking to work on the current weaker points in her game like the serve. And it is key to point out that it was not just about Gauff’s errors, as Emma Navarro has continued her fantastic 2024 season and is looking likely to move inside the top 10 at the end of the tournament.
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