Coco Gauff’s Aggressive Play Secures Round of 16 Spot at Roland Garros
Coco Gauff Blends Aggression with Precision to Overcome Dayana Yastremska at Roland Garros Round of 16.
For the fourth consecutive year, the world No. 3 has advanced to the Paris major round of 16. Before the match, my thoughts were of Dayana Yastremska hitting balls into the corners and Coco Gauff stumbling back and forth to catch as many as she could.
That was present in part. Gauff’s natural inclination is to use her speed and stamina to defend, while Yastremska essentially only knows one gear for her strokes—the fifth.
However, Coco is currently attempting to accomplish more than that. She has been gradually changing from a defensive- to an offensive-minded player at the age of 20, under the direction of Brad Gilbert. She now employs her exceptional athleticism to attack in addition to being able to scramble and retrieve. They think the journey will be worthwhile despite some hiccups along the way. Gauff laments that when she was younger, she became engrossed in her performance.
When she lost a lot in her early years on tour, Gauff admits, “I think I got down on myself.” And I’m thinking, ‘You were so young,’ even though I’m not old yet. You were undoubtedly very young back then, and you’re still growing. Yes, I make an effort to just keep getting better as a player. Although it can occasionally result in losses, I believe it will be significant in the long run.
An excellent example of where the American is in that transition was her final 6-2, 6-4 victory over the Ukrainian. When facing a player as unpredictable as Yastremska, she played it safe, shot the ball through the middle of the court, and made her opponent aim along the lines in order to win points. This was the obvious and wise course of action. Yastremska committed 38 unintentional errors, while Gauff only managed eight winners.
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Gauff remarked, “I felt like I played pretty well today.” I was just attempting to be reliable. I was just trying to be steady and aggressive when I could because she’s a really aggressive player who can hit wins and make mistakes.
She is right when she states that defense wasn’t enough to win this game. At the baseline, she got up and slugged Yastremska. She went after her first serve and fired it into her body, disarming her opponent. She won 73% of those points and was broken just twice, despite making only 47% of her first serves. On her second serve, she didn’t slow down like she usually does when she’s nervous; instead, she accelerated with assurance.
For the most part, anyhow. Yastremska, behind 6-2, 5-2, naturally started to swing more freely, while Gauff also naturally tensed up and threw a double fault that ended up at the foot of the net. Yastremska recovered from the first break and came close to taking the second, but Gauff put up a strong defense at the baseline at 5-4 to earn a final hold.
After defeating Yastremska in Madrid last month, Gauff stated she was prepared for a last run from the Russian.
She remarked, “I knew it would be hard to finish the match because she plays really well from behind.” “I was merely trying to remind myself that I’m in a better situation. I’ve gained a set and a double break.
Gauff’s next challenge might be to win Roland Garros while hitting only 47% of her first serves. Maybe not. However, as I mentioned earlier, each game she plays contributes to her development and transfer. This one seemed to be a positive move. Before the two weeks are done, we’ll check to see if she can produce a few more.
