Coco Gauff says she is taking nothing for granted heading into her next Australian Open match against a player who she describes as ‘one of the most athletic’ on Tour.
The reigning US Open champion sealed her place in the third round of the tournament on Wednesday with a 7-6(2), 6-2, win over compatriot Caroline Dolehide. Becoming the first American teenager to win nine consecutive main draw matches at Grand Slam events in the Open Era.
It was far from a straightforward match for the world No.4 who lost a 3-0 lead in the opening set and was then broken at 5-5 before clawing her way back to prevail in the tiebreak. Gauff experienced a smoother ride in the second frame where she won five games in a row to seal victory.
“I told myself I needed to be more aggressive because she was just running me around the court, especially using her forehand.” She said of her change of tactics between sets.
“For the first couple of games, she was making more errors, so I was just putting it (the ball) in play. Then she started to make them and play smarter and go for bigger targets. It started to get difficult, so I knew I needed to be on the offensive end if I wanted to win the match.’
“I tried, started to play, aiming deeper, I was okay with missing long, and also coming in, especially when I had her on the wrong foot.”
Gauff is bidding to become the first female player since Naomi Osaka to hold both the US Open and Australian Open titles at the same time. She currently has a win-loss record of 46-16 at major events.
Awaiting her in the next round will be Alycia Parks who beat former Grand Slam finalist Leylah Fernandez 7-5, 6-4, in her second round match. It will be the first meeting between the two who have known each other since childhood. On paper, Gauff will be the favourite but she is taking nothing for granted.
“I have known her for a long time, since I was maybe nine years old. I used to practice with her and her sister.” Said Gauff.
“I think she’s one of the most, if not “the” most, athletic players on tour.’
“It’s going to be a tough match. I don’t expect it to be easy. I’ve never played her (on the WTA Tour) other than the mixed doubles we had at the US Open, but I’ve never played her in practice or anything. We’re both going in not blind because we watched each other but never hit or anything.’
“She’s a great player, and I always knew she was going to do well on tour. It was just a matter of when it was all going to align. I think now it’s starting to align.”
World No.82 Parks will be contesting a Grand Slam third round match for the first time in her career. She won her maiden WTA trophy last year in Lyon where she beat Caroline Garcia in the final. She is currently being coached by Australia’s Mark Hlawaty.
“I know everyone else wants to see the matchup, but I think it’s pretty good to run across her in a slam, third round. I guess we’re both going to go out there and play our games and see where it goes.” Said Parks.
One key area in the upcoming showdown with be the serve which can be a weapon for both players due to their powerful hitting. However, Gauff hopes she has the upper hand following her recent time spent training with Andy Roddick.
“I think a small adjustment I made with Andy helped me be more consistent with the serve,” Gauff explained.
“That got me out of that last game, hitting those big aces or big body serves or even the slider Y. When I’m playing like that, it’s tough as an opponent because they don’t know where the serve is going to go. You know, sometimes I can serve it slower and sometimes it can come really fast.”
Gauff’s clash with Parks will take place on Friday.
