"Coco Gauff has the best chance" - Lindsay Davenport picks World No. 2 as American favorite to win a Grand Slam next with US Open looming
Former World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport has named Coco Gauff as the likeliest candidate among American women to win a singles Major next. Davenport's verdict came as the 2024 US Open inches closer, with Gauff heading into the prestigious hardcourt Major as the defending champion.
Gauff, the current World No. 2 in the WTA Tour rankings, got off to a disastrous start in last year's US Open women's singles final against Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian blew the American away in the first set (6-2) and looked in pole position to go on and clinch the title.
However, Gauff, with the majority of the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd firmly behind her, mounted a stirring comeback in the second set. She eventually subdued Sabalenka in the second and third sets 6-3, and 6-2 respectively, producing a stellar display of defensive tennis to win her maiden Grand Slam title.
Unfortunately, the 20-year-old's form since her resounding 2023 US Open success has been inconsistent. Gauff had started the 2024 tennis season on a positive note, winning the ASB Classic in Auckland and then mustering a semifinal finish at the Australian Open. However, she has not won a title since her triumph in Auckland, and her most recent outing at the Paris Olympics was forgettable.
Making her debut at the prestigious Games this year, the World No. 2 was given the honor of bearing the USA's flag alongside LeBron James. On the courts of Roland Garros though, her women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles campaigns disintegrated rather quickly.
Recently, during an appearance on Tennis Channel, three-time singles Major champion Lindsay Davenport picked Gauff as the likeliest American woman to triumph next at a Grand Slam.
"(The American woman) to win a Major again, I agree (with former ATP star Sam Querrey, who was also present in the Tennis Channel studio), it's Coco Gauff who has the best chance," Davenport said (0:53).
However, the 48-year-old suggested that Gauff has to step up mentality-wise if she is to have any chance of successfully defending her US Open title. At the Olympics, Gauff's singles loss to Donna Vekic was marred by the American's tearful outburst after she perceived that she was unfairly treated by the chair umpire owing to a call going against her.
"We saw Sabalenka defend her Australian Open title at the start of the year. Can Coco go two in a row at the US Open? But she's got to do it with an even mindset, get that back," Davenport added.
"I'm using this just to see where I'm at and what I need to do to get ready for US Open 2024" - Coco Gauff on Canadian Open 2024 participation
Gauff is currently preparing for her third-round match at the National Bank Open in Toronto against Diana Shnaider on Friday, August 9. Seeded No. 1 at the event, Gauff earlier registered a straightforward win over qualifier Wang Yafang in the second round.
Ahead of the WTA 1000 hardcourt tournament, the 20-year-old confessed during a press conference that the sole reasons for her participation at the event are to figure out her current level on the surface and what she needs "to get ready for the 2024 US Open".
"I have no expectations for this week. I’m not going into this expecting to win. It will obviously be great. That's the goal. But, to be realistic, I was on clay three days ago. So, yeah, I think overall I'm just using this just to see where I'm at what I need to do to get ready for US Open," Gauff said.
Gauff and Shnaider's upcoming third-round match at the National Bank Open will mark their first-ever meeting on the WTA Tour. Shnaider has so far narrowly won her first and second-round matches against Harriet Dart and Magdalena Frech.