Coco Gauff ‘seems natural on clay’ claims former WTA star

Former world number seven Barbara Schett has heaped praise onto Coco Gauff  saying that she “loves the way that Gauff moves on clay” after the American moved into the third round for the second consecutive year. 

Teenager Coco Gauff has had a strong past month on clay as she reached the last 16 at both the WTA 1000 events in Rome and Madrid.

She has continued that form into the second Grand Slam of the year as she battled to a 6-1, 7-6(4) victory over Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck.

Atlanta born Gauff cruised to a first set lead but the 18th seed faced a tough second set as the 60th-ranked van Uytvanck had 4-2 and 5-3 leads in the second set before Gauff clawed her way back and forced the tiebreak.

The 18-year-old edged over the line for a straight-sets win in 1 hour and 26 minutes.

Gauff, who was the 2018 French Open junior champion, will be looking to better her result from last year’s Roland Garros as she made the quarter-finals before losing to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova.

Reflecting on the performance of Coco Gauff, former Austrian number one Barbara Schett praised the young American for her win claiming “clay seems natural” to her unlike other American players.

Speaking to Eurosport, Schett stated, “Coco Gauff had a great victory against Alison Van Uytvanck.

“I love the way she moves on clay. It seems very natural to her as lots of Americans struggle with sliding on clay but not Coco Gauff.

“She showed craftiness out there on the court and in combination with a lot of power.”

“You can see she is really enjoying herself out there on court.”

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