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By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Photo credit: Garrett Ellwood/USTA/US Open
Coco Gauff typically wears headphones when walking on court.
When the 20-year-old Gauff launches her US Open title defense next week, she must tune into the inner instinct to rebound in New York, Hall of Famer Chrissie Evert said today.
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Citing Gauff’s consultations with coaches Jean Christophe Faurel and Brad Gilbert during some recent matches, Evert said it’s time for the Delray Beach-born baseliner to step up and call her own shots. Evert's comments came during today's Zoom call she and fellow former No. 1 John McEnroe conducted with the media to promote ESPN's first-ball-to-last-ball US Open coverage starting on Monday, August 26th at noon on ESPN.
“I think she’s got to trust her instincts when she’s playing a match,” Evert said of Gauff. “And not always rely on patterns and coaches and people telling her what to do.
“I just think she’s at an age now where she’s got to play with a little more feel, and a little more instinct and a little more belief in herself. And get away from the patterns. She was frustrated at them [her coaching box]. Like she was blaming them, but really tennis is inside you.
“John [McEnroe] and I didn’t have the coaching they have now and I think we figured it out ourselves. We played instinctive tennis and I think that Coco’s got to do more of that.”
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Last September, Gauff rallied past Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to capture her maiden major before a raucous crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It was Gauff’s 12th straight win and came after she became the youngest woman to win the Cincinnati Open.
At age 19, Gauff became the youngest American to win the US Open since her tennis hero, a 17-year-old Serena Williams, defeated world No. 1 Martina Hingis in the 1999 final. She also joined Serena Williams and Tracy Austin as the third American teenage woman to capture the US Open in the Open Era.
Though Gauff opened this season successfully defending Auckland for her seventh title before semifinal runs at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, she’s been reeling in recent weeks. Evert expects Gauff to see a steady dose of "forehand, forehand, forehand" at next week's US Open.
The American co flag-bearer at the Paris Olympics alongside LeBron James, Gauff fell to Emma Navarro in a tearful Wimbledon loss, went down to Wimbledon semifinalist Donna Vekic at the Olympics, lost to Diana Shnaider in Toronto and was bounced out of Cincinnati by Yulia Putintseva last week.
Gauff’s western-grip forehand has been a perpetual target for opponents, who have pounded that wing like a pinata, her second serve has let her down at times and she’s grown emotional during some matches.
Evert says seeing Gauff shed tears on court and sometimes bark at her box this summer is a sign of both immense expectations and intense frustration erupting in emotion.
“The thing about the tears: you just don’t consciously know the expectations that creep into your cells in your body,” Evert said of Gauff. “But everybody from day one has thought about Coco Gauff: She’s the next Serena Williams. She’s gonna be the next one that dominates.
“That stays with you for a long time. I also think when she got really upset and emotional during Wimbledon, I think she’s got to start to figure out her own game plan.”
How will Gauff handle the burden of wearing the bulls-eye on her back as reigning US Open champion in New York City this month? Can she solve the second-serve and frail forehand issues that have pained her this summer?
Coaches Brad Gilbert and Pere Riba helped Gauff complete her quest to win the US Open last year by simplifying her approaching, emphasizing her first-serve prowess, oppressive defense and her crackling two-handed backhand.
While some have said Gauff should work with a stroke technician on shortening her elaborate forehand swing and try to modify her grip to a more semi-western over time, McEnroe says Gauff has the game and mind to turn things around.
“Coco is a great player she can figure it out—you know just pay attention,” McEnroe said.
Former No. 1 McEnroe said “it’s hard to say what will happen” with the Gauff-Gilbert partnership, but asserts when it comes to regaining form, time is on Gauff’s side.
“As far as Brad goes, it’s hard to say what will happen. But Brad is one of the best coaches that has been around,” McEnroe said of his ESPN colleague and sometime hitting partner Gilbert. “He’s been around some great players. Maybe Brad is an acquired taste to some degree, but you know the people that have acquired his taste, have done very well.
“I think he should be in the Hall of Fame for his coaching, personally. So I don’t think [coaching] is the problem. I think if she decides in a year she wants to try someone else, you know that’s her right, she’s the player.
"But last year when he joined forces with Coco there was a great run. She won the Open. I think he’s done an excellent job. She’s young. We’ll see what happens. She has plenty of time to figure this out.”