John McEnroe sees Coco Gauff as high-contender at US Open

Former world number one John McEnroe believes that America’s young tennis sensation Coco Gauff is ‘second or third favourite’ for the US Open. The fourth and final Grand Slam of the year will begin on August 26, and players from all over the world will participate to showcase their talent and secure the ultimate prize.

Former world number one McEnroe was recently quoted in a report in which he expressed his opinion about who is the favourite for the tournament in the women’s singles category. The 65-year-old believes that defending champion Gauff will be the second or third favourite to lift the title.

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“She’s excited to be defending her title. She’s also sort of bewildered about some of the results,” he said while talking to ESPN as quoted by Tennis 365. “I think the pressure of expectation hits all the top players. She won the US Open. It gets more difficult in a lot of ways ’cause you got people coming after you, you’re a bigger win. Everyone in their camp expects more. She expects more. She’s still the second or third favourite to win this. You might even put her in level tournaments in terms of Swiatek. Rybakina, she hasn’t had the results. Sabalenka has been hurt, then she’s now just won Cincinnati. It is a lot wider open, and something unexpected could happen, particularly with all the emotions and fatigue that are happening. Having said all of that, she’s still the second or third favourite.”

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Gauff won the title last year after beating Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka in the final with a score of 2–6, 6–3, 6–2. She recently participated in two events where she suffered an early exit. In the Canadian Open, the Atlanta-born star lost in the third round to Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the third round in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-2. She then lost in the first round of the Cincinnati Open to Yulia Putintseva with a score of 6-4,2-6, 6-4.