The most impressive aspect of Coco Gauff’s amazing comeback victory on Friday was the emotional maturity she showed during the first hour of the match when things were going against her and it seemed she was going to crash out.
She did not panic or allow her frustration to get the better of her. She just dropped her racket a couple of times, kept thinking about what she should be doing and kept believing.
Most 15-year-olds would have slipped to a tearful defeat, but not Gauff. She proved once again that she is already close to the finished article. Indeed she is already a more complete player than most on the women’s tour.
Critically, as we saw on Friday, she never gives up, never stops trying to find the path to victory. Her tennis IQ is off the charts. The way she began to change the pace of her shots, to mix up the patterns of play was terrific. That tennis intelligence, the ability to figure things out when the pressure is on and you’re at full tilt is partly innate. But she has clearly been well taught, and must be open to the information she is given.
There are a few technical improvements to be made, however. Her forehand can get a bit short and high, presenting a sitter to her opponent. She could hit the ball with more spin and pace on both wings. Her serve, which is already a real weapon, could be improved by using more spin, especially slice. Gauff has a good volley, which she could use a bit more, especially when opponents are just slicing from the back of the court, as Polona Hercog did on Friday.
These are minor fixes. The most important thing is that as well as having a great team behind her and every opportunity, she has the body and mind to handle it all. It takes commitment to get up every morning, even when you don’t feel like it, and to give 100%. She has that.
Having said all that, I do not expect her to win Wimbledon just yet and I doubt that she will be able to get past Simona Halep tomorrow.
Against Hercog, Gauff was troubled by the depth and pace of some of Hercog’s groundstrokes. She will find that Halep is far more accurate and that she hits hard to both corners. Halep is adept at driving players back and her backhand down the line is one of the best single shots on the tour.
It will be fascinating to see how Gauff attempts to deal with Halep’s consistent excellence, but I expect Halep, who is mentally tough as well, to have too much for Gauff at this stage. Next year, it could be another matter and it should not be too long before we are acclaiming Gauff as a Grand Slam champion.
It has done Gauff no harm that she has instantly become the darling of the crowds at Wimbledon. Most of them were on her side against Venus Williams, the five-time champion who is coming to the end of her extraordinary career.
I felt sorry, too, for Hercog. She had the opportunity of a lifetime to reach the second week at Wimbledon and she found herself up against a prodigy who has already generated more headlines than she can ever hope for, and she found herself cast as the villain who was denying the Centre Court crowd their wishes.
The worst moment came on Hercog’s second match point, when she served a double fault and the crowd cheered. That was awful for her, and I know from my own experience that you can’t help taking it personally. We should wish Hercog well for the future. Gauff, meanwhile, needs only to keep doing what she’s doing and to keep her feet on the ground. Her future is bound to be bright and she has the chance to make history.
Her mother, Candi, may, however, need a little help along the way. When I saw her on the player’s box, unable to watch, almost losing it, I thought: “Welcome to the game, Candi. You’ve got another 20 years of this.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/s...tour-d0rgmvnqb
Originally Posted by miril
The most impressive aspect of Coco Gauff’s amazing comeback victory on Friday was the emotional maturity she showed during the first hour of the match when things were going against her and it seemed she was going to crash out.
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