LONDON: Coco Gauff admits she was overwhelmed by the aftermath of her French Open triumph after crashing out of Wimbledon on Tuesday evening.
Gauff, who was seeking to become the first woman in a decade to win both the French Open and Wimbledon titles in the same year, was overpowered by an inspired Dayana Yastremska. The Ukrainian battled through a tight opening set before storming to a stunning 7-6(3), 6-1, victory. It is the second time the American has lost her opening match at Wimbledon in the last three years.
“I just feel like on the surface I maybe could have used more matches,” Gauff reflected afterwards.
“It’s like finding the puzzle. I don’t like to play the week before (a Grand Slam). It’s a quick turnaround, so I think just trying to learn whether it’s better to train more and maybe play Bad Homburg or Eastbourne.”
The 21-year-old played only one Tour-level match on the grass coming into Wimbledon this year, which was in Berlin where she was beaten in straight sets by China’s Xinyu Wang. It is a stark contrast to the clay swing earlier this year when she reached back-to-back finals at WTA 1000 events before winning Roland Garros.
In hindsight, Gauff admitted that the short turnaround between surfaces and the calm down from winning a major event was difficult for her.
“I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came after (the French Open), so I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it,” she explained.
“But it’s the first time in this experience of coming off a win and having to play Wimbledon. I definitely learned a lot about what I would and would not do again.
“Also, she (Yastremska) played great. I saw the draw and knew it would be a tough match for me. I had chances, but yeah, it is what it is.”
As for the future, Gauff knows that she has work to do if she wishes to make a breakthrough at Wimbledon, which is the only major where she has yet to reach the quarter-finals.
“I have faith that if I can make these adjustments, I can do well here. I really do want to do well here. I’m not someone who wants to write myself off grass this early in my career, but I definitely need to make changes if I want to be successful,” Gauff concluded.
