"I don't know about happy, but I'm proud" - Coco Gauff on French Open run after falling to Iga Swiatek in semifinals
Coco Gauff bowed out of the 2024 French Open in the semifinals, losing to defending champion Iga Swiatek. The youngster put up a good fight, but fell short and lost 2-6, 4-6.
This marked Gauff’s second loss to Swiatek in Paris as she had also lost her maiden Grand Slam final to the same opponent at the 2022 French Open. Nonetheless, she has plenty of positives to take away from the last fortnight.
Asked to reflect on her run during her post-match press conference, Gauff said she was not particularly happy with the way things ended, but was still proud of her performance in Paris.
"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," Coco Gauff said (at 0.05). "Well, I don't know about happy but I'm proud of the run and I hope to go further next time."
Looking back at her semifinal loss, Gauff said she went into the contest with a certain gameplan in mind but could not execute it well enough against Swiatek.
The youngster was also critical of her own error count, saying she was unable to make the best of short balls despite working hard to construct points.
"I think it was the execution that I, you know, didn't do well on," Coco Gauff said (at 2.10). "I had a lot, a couple break points in the early in the first set to break back. And I made errors a lot of short ball areas and I think, um, you know, for the most part I do think I had the right idea, but I think I just made too many errors."
"I feel like I wasn't always like hit off the court today," she continued (at 2.20). "I just felt like I made too many, um, errors, especially on shorter balls."
Coco Gauff can still join Iga Swiatek among the trophy holders at the 2024 French Open
Coco Gauff may have bowed out of the singles competition, but she can still join Iga Swiatek as a French Open champion — albeit in doubles.
The American, who is partnering Katerina Siniakova in the doubles, has booked her spot in the semifinals. She admitted to feeling good about her and Siniakova’s chances of going all the way.
"I don't think not long because I have doubles tomorrow and I have a good a great partner and I feel like we have a good chance to win," Coco Gauff said (at 9).
Gauff and Siniakova, the fifth seeds at this year’s tournament, will take on the all-American duo of Desirae Krawczyk and Caroline Dolehide for a spot in the doubles final on Friday.