WASHINGTON — Coco Gauff grew a bit weary of listening to followers’ numerous theories about what was mistaken along with her forehand.
“I know a lot of people think I need to cut my nails to help me hit a forehand better,” she stated with fun. “I’m like, ‘Bruh, I did try the short nails, and it did not make my forehand better.’”
Turns out all of the 19-year-old from Florida wanted to get again to profitable – together with a trophy on the hard-court DC Open on Sunday that alerts her readiness to contend on the U.S. Open, which begins in three weeks – was a bit of recommendation from individuals who know what they’re speaking about.
Gauff stated in an interview with The Associated Press that she bought that from two sources in Washington: Her new full-time coach, Pere Riba, and a brief advisor, Brad Gilbert.
It was Riba, Gauff defined, who advised altering her footwork to get into higher place for forehands and never feeling the must be proper up on the baseline to take the ball early. And it was Gilbert, she stated, who needed Gauff to take extra time between factors.
“Tempo was one of the main things, and it’s a pretty basic piece of advice. Every tennis player, regardless of the level, is told how important time is,” Gauff stated. “But I think just having someone reiterate that to you (was helpful). … After I lose maybe two or three points in a row, maybe take the full 25 seconds to reset, especially if I’m the one serving.”
An instance of that got here within the final recreation of her 6-2, 6-3 victory over two-time Grand Slam semifinalist Maria Sakkari in Sunday’s last. Gauff dropped two consecutive factors to go from 30-love to 30-all.
Instead of speeding to renew, Gauff paused for a second.
“I took time to think about the serve that I wanted to hit,” she stated. “I realized in the practices that I do perform better when I take time in between points.”
For all of these types of issues to really work, after all, Gauff wanted to hearken to what Riba and Gilbert have been saying and implement their concepts.
She clearly did. Just ask her opponents in Washington, the place she claimed all eight units she performed and ceded a grand whole of solely 19 video games regardless of dealing with a trio of gamers ranked within the Top 20: Sakkari, defending champion Liudmila Samsonova and Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic.
And as proficient, speedy and good as Gauff is, it’s her willingness to adapt and attempt to enhance that make her somebody to observe in New York – and past, after all.
“When you say something to her, she analyzes it and she puts in the work. She is willing to make changes. That gives me a lot of confidence,” stated Riba, who first started attending to know Gauff in June throughout the event in Eastbourne, England, proper earlier than her first-round exit at Wimbledon. “I see things moving in a really positive way after seeing her make some changes just in these few weeks.”
Gauff’s backhand continues to be as harmful because it will get on tour. Her serve, too. Her cover-the-entire-court protection retains her in each level. Her capacity to assume her approach via a contest can also be a plus.
“She can really read matches well,” Riba stated, “even though she’s only 19.”
Now if that forehand – “It’s not a secret; everybody is trying to play the forehand,” Gauff stated – continues to progress from legal responsibility to asset, look out.
Sakkari stated she will see that stroke has gotten higher from the place it was the earlier 5 instances she confronted Gauff.
And Sakkari figures {that a} participant who turned the youngest qualifier in Wimbledon historical past and made all of it the way in which to the fourth spherical there in 2019 … and who eradicated reigning champion Naomi Osaka on the Australian Open in 2020 … and who reached reached the French Open last in 2022 … is sure for extra success.
“She’s a top player. There was all this hype for a reason,” stated Sakkari, who has been within the Top 10 each week since September 2021, the second-longest lively streak. “She wasn’t just a one-off thing (who) was just good when she was 15.”
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis author since 2002. Write to him at hfendrich@ap.org.
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