"I was like, gurl bffr" - Coco Gauff jokes about her struggle to hold serve during win against Linda Noskova in Cincinnati Open
Coco Gauff entered the quarterfinals of the 2023 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati after defeating Linda Noskova in straight sets on August 17.
Interestingly, Gauff and Noskova both struggled to hold serve in the first set of the third-round match. Gauff was broken in her first game, but managed to immediately break Noskova's back. This pattern of both players breaking each other back-to-back led to nine broken serves in the first set alone.
Still, the American managed to get ahead 6-4 with a final break of serve. Gauff then bageled her Czech opponent in the second set to win the contest 6-4, 6-0. Noskova did not hold serve once throughout the match.
Coco Gauff addressed her serving woes on Instagram and responded to a fan's comment about her play in the first set. The 19-year-old joked about her serving and said she recollected herself to not drop serve once in the second set.
"Happened so many times in the first set, lol. I was like gurl bffr and hold your serve but I did in the second set," Gauff wrote in an Instagram Story.
The No. 2 American also talked about what happened in the first set and how she changed her game in the second during her post-match press conference. Gauff stated that she was trying to make a lot of first balls and win long rally points to get the better of Noskova and also addressed her five doubles faults in the match.
"Yeah, I mean, I broke her every time in the first. Holding serve is usually what I can do well. So I was just trying to hold serve. I really told myself just go as hard as I could. I thought my serve would click a little bit," she said.
"Honestly, a lot of it -- well, I did double-fault some moments, but a lot of it was really the first ball. I was missing a lot of those in the rally. So I was trying to pay more attention to that and making sure I was winning those rally points," Gauff continued.
Coco Gauff to face Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinal of the Cincinnati Open
The World No. 7 will play against Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open on August 18. Gauff has played Paolini once before, at the 2021 Adelaide International 1, and won the match 6-4, 7-6, 6-2. This will be Gauff's ninth quarterfinal of the year.
The former Roland Garros finalist received a bye in the first round at Cincinnati and has faced little trouble since. She sailed past Mayar Sherif of Egypt in the second round, 6-2, 6-2, and Linda Noskova in the third. Gauff will now play her third WTA quarterfinal in a row.
2023 has been a fruitful year for Coco Gauff. She has won two tour titles, the Auckland Open in January and Citi Open in August. The latter, a 500-level tournament, was her biggest career title, eclipsing the three previous WTA 250 event she had won.