“I’m just believing in it, more than expecting it” – Coco Gauff on her US Open chances
A French Open singles finalist and the new world No 1 in women’s doubles, things are looking up for Coco Gauff. But the American is keeping her expectations realistic heading into the US Open
Coco Gauff at the 2022 National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada.
Image Credit: Icon SMI / Panoramic
On Monday, 18-year-old Coco Gauff took another big step in her young career. The American teen ascended to the world No 1 position in the doubles rankings – making her the second youngest (after Martina Hingis) to top the WTA doubles rankings.
Gauff has also made rapid strides in the singles game this year – reaching her first Grand Slam singles final at the French Open and rising to a career-high No 11 in the world (she is currently 12th this week).
With the US Open now just a few weeks away, Gauff is among a handful of American women who are title contenders. But the 18-year-old, who won five matches in Washington and Toronto combined over the past two weeks, says while she is taking steps in the right directions, she needs more matches heading into the final Major of the season.
“I think that’s what I need, more matches, because in a Grand Slam very few people can play great the whole match for two weeks,” Gauff said as quoted by the WTA Tour website. “You always have one bad set or something. I think that having those matches under my belt helps.
“Even though I lost to Simona (Halep), I think that was the best tennis that I played that week in Toronto, even though I had those wins. But I think that was a step in the right direction.”
“I think I’m trying to take my chances more and be more aggressive” – Coco Gauff on her new game style
Gauff added that while she believes that she believes she is capable of winning a Grand Slam now, she does not expect the same from herself -a lesson she has learnt after the hype built around her when she burst on to the scene at a 15-year-old prodigy.
Reflecting on her 2019 US Open campaign where she lost her highly-anticipated third-round showdown against defending champion Naomi Osaka following which she broke down in tears on court, Gauff said, “That was so stupid for me to believe that because [Naomi Osaka] had two Grand Slams at that point, and I was 15 playing my first US Open. I believe that I can win the match, there’s nothing wrong with that. But I thought that I was supposed to do something — not believe that I could do it — I actually thought I was expected to do it. Now I’m just believing in it, more than expecting it, because you have to be realistic. And I think at that time nobody was really realistic.”
Gauff, who has a 3-3 lifetime record in the US Open main draw, said she is also trying to become more aggressive in her game style with an eye on the big prizes.
“I feel like everybody knows I’m fast. I think sometimes I just go and just put the ball in the court because I know I can run it down. That was my old mentality,” Gauff said. “But now I think I’m trying to take my chances more and be more aggressive. Because playing [the old] way would definitely get me quarterfinals or fourth round in Slams. But to get to that final moment you need to take care of those details. I think I’m slowly taking care of those details.”
Gauff begins her singles campaign in Cincinnati this week against Marie Bouzkova in the second round and is also partnering with Jessica Pegula, with whom she won the Canadian Open on Sunday, in the doubles this week.
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