Coco Gauff had an unsuccessful North American swing, failing to make a deep run in any of the three tournaments. As a result, the 20-year-old was scrutinized by naysayers. However, Andy Roddick stood up for Gauff in one of his latest episodes of the “Served” podcast.
The youngster suffered losses in the initial rounds of the two WTA 1000 tournaments – the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Masters. She did slightly better at the US Open, reaching the fourth round. As a result of the silverware-less few months, Gauff decided to part ways with Brad Gilbert.
Since the split with Gilbert, several analysts have been wondering who Gauff’s next coach could be. However, Roddick believed that the Georgia-born player should not rush into any decision. The US Open 2003 winner doubled down by claiming that she is still among the top-ranked WTA stars despite her poor North American run.
“I don’t think she has to be in a rush… Like her base level – we think she played badly the last three months – and she’s still like what three in the world, four in the world. Her bottom level is still pretty good,” Roddick said.
However, Gauff has somewhat redeemed herself with an impressive start to the Asian swing.
Gauff wins China Open 2024
Given her results over the past few months, not many pundits and enthusiasts backed Coco Gauff to thrive in the China Open 2024. However, the American superstar has shocked everyone with her level of performance in Beijing.
Over the past two weeks, Gauff defeated some big names such as Katie Boulter, Naomi Osaka, and Paula Badosa to find herself in the finals of the WTA 1000 tournament. She has already created history by becoming the first American woman to reach the final of this tournament since 2013 (Serena Williams).
The final was fairly one-sided, with Gauff easing past Karolina Muchova without much trouble. After comfortably winning the first set 6-1, the American faced some resistance from Muchova in the second set. However, Gauff eventually won it 6-3 to clinch the trophy.
It was an impressive win for Gauff, particularly since her opponent was enjoying a good week, overcoming two powerhouses — Aryna Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng — to reach the finals. Thus, Gauff can take many positives from this win into the season’s final tournaments.
