"Yes I could’ve won in straight sets, but I mentally prepared myself": Calm and collected Coco as Gauff survives mid match wobble in Stuttgart

WTA
Thursday, 20 April 2023 at 02:30
copyright proshots 19107707

Coco Gauff was made to work for her opening round victory at the 2023 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, outlasting Veronika Kudermetova in a tight three-set encounter on Wednesday.

The fifth seed scored a 6-2 4-6 7-6(3) win over her opponent, eventually prevailing after a nerve-wracking final set. Although Gauff cruised through the opening set, her level of play dropped, allowing her Russian adversary back into the set.

The American called on her big-match experience to prevail in the third-set tiebreaker, and later admitted she had not fully made the transition in terms of court surface.

"She started to play better & I started to play more passive," said the World No.6. "Against her, you can’t really do that...I was on hard courts in the US 3 days ago so I knew it was gonna be tough.

"Yes I could’ve won in straight sets, but I mentally prepared myself.”

Gauff will face Anastasia Potapova for a spot in the quarterfinals.

claps 0visitors 227

Just In

Popular News