“There is no part of my game that I felt comfortable in today” – Gauff reflects on early Toronto loss
The 20-year-old American just celebrated her 100th consecutive week in the world’s top 10
Coco Gauff, Toronto 2024
American Coco Gauff suffered an earlier-than-expected loss at this week’s WTA National Bank Open. The world No 2 went down in the third round on Friday to another 20-year-old, Russia’s Diana Shnaider in straight sets (6-4, 6-1).
Speaking to the media after her loss, Gauff said she had a bad day on the court and did not feel comfortable in any part of her game, especially her returns.
“Overall, there is no part of my game that I felt comfortable in today. Returning-wise, earlier this year, I was like the No 1 winning percentage returns won. I feel like today I just missed so many returns, backhand, forehand, serve, everything was just feeling off the whole day. So, it just wasn’t a good day at the office,” the reigning US Open champion said.
I didn’t have the usual preparation I usually have going into this swing, so I’m trying to keep everything in perspective.
Coco Gauff
Gauff came into the tournament after the Paris Olympics, which were held on clay at Roland-Garros, which affected her chance to get more practice on hardcourts. With her experience, Gauff knows that she needs to keep things in perspective.
“I can move on from it. These are all things that I feel like I can easily fix, it just comes to getting more reps. I didn’t have the usual preparation I usually have going into this swing, so I’m trying to keep everything in perspective. I even felt that in my last match, I didn’t really feel very comfortable, I just was able to edge those out. So, I think today I’m just going to try to learn from it, and I feel confident going into the next couple weeks, because I do feel like I’m building the points the right way, I’m just making a lot of errors, so I just got to find the court.”
“It is a show of all the work I’ve put in week-in and week-out on tour” – Gauff on completing 100 weeks in the top 10
Despite the loss, Gauff has remained one of the most consistent players in the women’s game; something that’s reflected in her completing 100 consecutive weeks in the world’s top 10 recently. However, the American isn’t satisfied just yet and wants more.
“It’s very cool. They told me earlier this week that that was the thing. It shows that I’m consistent, which is great. I want to keep pushing towards the top and keep trying to just win tournaments. I guess staying in the top-10 is a great accomplishment, but it’s not like a goal, I guess. Obviously if you keep winning, then that’s the reward for it, so it is a show of all the work I’ve put in week-in and week-out on tour,” Gauff added.
