"Going to give myself amnesia" - Coco Gauff unwilling to let 'negativity' from SF loss to Iga Swiatek impact chance to win French Open doubles title
Coco Gauff has declared her intention to not dwell on her heartbreaking loss to Iga Swiatek in the semifinals of the 2024 French Open. Despite the setback, the American still has a chance to clinch a trophy at the claycourt Major as she gears up to contest the women's doubles semifinals.
Despite putting up a valiant fight, Gauff fell short against two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek's dominance at Roland Garros. Swiatek secured a commanding 6-2, 6-4 victory in an hour and 37 minutes, recording her 11th victory over the American in 12 meetings.
Although the 20-year-old has exited the singles competition, she still has a shot at Grand Slam glory in women's doubles, having reached the semifinals. With her usual doubles partner Jessica Pegula absent, Gauff has teamed up with Katerina Siniakova, and the duo is set to battle it out against Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawcyzk for a place in the final.
In her post-match press conference, Coco Gauff was asked how long she expected to feel the disappointment from her bitter loss to Swiatek. However, the American emphasized that she would not dwell on it for too long due to her strong desire to win a Grand Slam title in doubles.
"Not long because I have doubles tomorrow and I have a great partner and I feel like we have a good shot to win," Coco Gauff said (at 8:30).
"I really want to win a doubles Slam just so I can, I dont want to say close that chapter of my career, but it's something that I feel like once I do it, I don't know if I'll continue to chase more. Not saying I won't play doubles," she added.
The 20-year-old admitted that she didn't want to repeat past mistakes, recalling how she let the "negativity" from her loss to Swiatek in the 2022 French Open final impact her performance in the women's doubles final alongside Pegula. The American duo suffered a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 defeat to Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.
"So I'm focused on that. One thing I learned from the final two years ago, I had to play doubles the next day and I think Iet the negativity of my loss the previous day take over into another Grand Slam final," she said.
Emphasizing the need for a "clean slate" in the doubles semifinal, Coco Gauff disclosed that she will give herself "amnesia" about her loss to the World No. 1, focusing solely on her goal of winning the women's doubles title.
"Same scenario basically, semifinal-semifinal so I just want to start on a clean slate, try my best to do what I can do to help my teammate and probably after this tournament is over, I will think about it but I'm going to give myself amnesia and just think about it later because I still have a chance at a trophy," Coco Gauff said.
"I don't know about happy but I'm proud" - Coco Gauff on her French Open singles run
In the same press conference, Coco Gauff expressed mixed feelings about her singles campaign at the French Open, admitting that while she isn't particularly happy with how it ended, she is "proud" of her run.
"It was a tough match as always, she played at a tough level and it was, um, I think I made a lot of errors but you know, overall I am happy. Well, I don't know about happy but I'm proud of the run and I hope to go further next time," Coco Gauff said.
Following her doubles campaign at the claycourt Major, the American will shift her focus to the grass season, with the Wimbledon Championships looming on the horizon.
Having reached the semifinals of both the Australian Open and the French Open this season, the American will aim to make a deep run at SW19 as well, especially after her first-round loss to Sofia Kenin last year.