Coco Gauff produced a miserable performance on Tuesday as she was comprehensively beaten by Elina Svitolina at the Australian Open.
Gauff, who had performed well heading in the lead-up to the last-eight clash, produced one of the worst performances of her career in a 6-1, 6-2 loss to the Ukrainian 12th seed.
The American struggled on serve throughout the 59-minute contest, hitting five double faults and winning only 41 per cent of her first-serve points.
It was a truly abject performance from the young American star, who will need to bounce back quickly as the calendar enters the Middle Eastern swing.
Tim Henman, the former British number one, did not hold back when analysing Gauff’s performance.
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Tim Henman slams ‘shocking’ Coco Gauff performance
During TNT Sports’ live post-match coverage, Henman said: “We all have bad days at the office but I think in the context of being the favourite going into that match, she has won the US Open and the French Open, she is number three in the world.
“That was a shocking performance, there is no two ways about it.
“Svitolina just took advantage but when you take the top player who can really only kick that first serve in, she was serving at 125kmph and then making so many mistakes from the back of the court, the assets of your game have just been completely stripped apart. That was pretty tough to watch.”
Henman later added: “To think she is such a good player, she hit three winners and 26 unforced errors. That’s impossible to compete at any level.”
Gauff can have no complaints with the result, and in truth, her performance was not entirely surprising.
The American has made a habit out of demonstrating inconsistency throughout tournaments, as demonstrated by her strong early performances in Australia coupled with the capitulation fans witnessed on Tuesday.
Simply put, if Gauff wishes to win Grand Slam titles again, she must iron out the alarming inconsistencies in her game.
Anne Keothavong reacts to Coco Gauff’s performance
Anne Keothavong, another former British number one, was in disbelief at what she had seen Coco Gauff produce on Rod Laver Arena.
“I can’t believe what we have just witnessed,” Keothavong said. “I don’t think many people had Svitolina as the favourite.
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“It was a near faultless performance from her but I think we have to question Coco Gauff. What happened there?
“She seemed out of sorts. It was flat. She just was not able to adapt. Where was the competitive fire that we see from her and so expect from her?
“None of that was there today. She will be bitterly disappointed about that performance.”
Svitolina has advanced to her first Australian Open semi-final, where she will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka booked her place in the semi-finals after defeating Iva Jovic, who described Sabalenka as ‘amazing.’
