For her age, Coco Gauff has already accomplished so much.
She is a generational talent with the weight of a nation on her shoulders, and at just 21 years old, she somehow manages to continue impressing.
That is, despite fundamental flaws within her game, known not just by herself and tennis fans, but also by her competitors too.
Naomi Osaka brutally exposed them last night as she knocked her out of the US Open, drawing error after error from the forehand wing of Coco Gauff’s racket.
Most players would be so disheartened by seeing such a key issue exploited. This young superstar, however, is looking ahead to a brighter future rather than dwelling on the present-day disappointment.
Coco Gauff makes promise after US Open loss to Naomi Osaka
Speaking to reporters immediately after her loss, she cut a downbeat figure.
After all, she had just been comfortably swept out of her home Grand Slam in straight sets, barely troubling Osaka at any point.
And yet, she still managed to make a huge promise to tennis fans about what the future holds, insisting: “She was serving well on the first serve, but I felt like today I was making way too many errors on the serve, especially on the second serve.
“In that first set, I don’t think her first serve percentage was even that high, and I wasn’t really getting into the rallies at all, which is a strong suit of my game.
“I think for me, I felt so discombobulated on the court, because it’s like I’m serving well but not returning well.
“Over the last years, everyone can agree that it’s a weird thought, but I am excited because I know that part of my game [is good]. I feel like off the ground, I wasn’t doing well at all. So today I am excited because I am like if I can serve well and also return well, it’s going to be pretty good for me.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images
“I think there are a lot of positives to take from this tournament and I’m trying to be positive in front of you guys. I promise you I don’t feel that well right now, but I am not going to let this crush me, and I look forward to the future and making more improvements, and hopefully next year I can grow a lot as a player and a person.”
There is still cause for optimism too, and it could be argued that Gauff losing to Osaka at the US Open could actually be a good thing for her.
How Naomi Osaka beat Coco Gauff so comfortably at the US Open
The story of the match was a rather bruising one for Gauff, who was so far behind Osaka in almost every area of the match.
The only thing that was slightly in the loser’s favour was her first serve percentage, sitting at 66%. However, having taken significant speed off it to ensure it got in, she won just 52% of those points.
Osaka, meanwhile, made just 42% of first serves, but when she did, she won 15 of the 16 times.
Her second serve was also emphatic, winning on that 77% of those points, and therefore gave her opponent no chance to break. She did not face a single break point and converted all four of the ones she forged on the Gauff serve.
As always, that proved to be the decider.
However, with the 2023 US Open champion also firing off a further 33 unforced errors, it’s clear that, whilst Osaka was dominant, Gauff did not help herself as her outstanding problems continued to prove her undoing.
AloJapan.com