"I was miserable when Coco Gauff lost at Australian Open 2024" - Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick recently spoke about his disappointment at Coco Gauff's elimination from the 2024 Australian Open. Gauff faced Aryna Sabalenka in a semi-final that was a rematch of the 2023 US Open final.
While the 19-year-old American left the New York crowd in raptures last year, it was Sabalenka who prevailed in Melbourne en route her second Grand Slam title.
The first set was a tight affair, but Sabalenka asserted her superiority in the tiebreaker. After clinching the first set 7-6(2), there was no looking back for the Belarusian, as she won it 6-4 and sealed her spot in the final.
Sabalenka went on to successfully defend her Australian Open title by beating Zheng Qinwen in the final, and Gauff headed back home after her disappointing defeat.
Roddick, who played a vital role in improving Gauff's serve during the off season, tuned into her match against Sabalenka and watched it until the end. During the first episode of his recently-launched podcast Served With Andy Roddick, the former American player revisited his feelings following Gauff's exit from the Australian Open.
"I am so impressed with her and I had a blast. I was miserable when she lost in Australia," Roddick said.
Roddick added that Gauff's loss haunted him for several days.
"I'd never in my life thought I'd be waking up at 3:30 watching a match and having the result affect me for the rest of the day and the next four days."
Why did Coco Gauff approach Andy Roddick for help?
During his playing days, Andy Roddick was feared by most of his rivals for his powerful serve. One of the most influential people behind Roddick's famed serve was Brad Gilbert, who is now Coco Gauff's coach.
Before the Australian Open, Gilbert came up with the idea of uniting his old and new students, and Roddick agreed.
Gilbert, who was a guest on ESPN during its coverage of the opening day of this year's Australian Open, revisited how the idea of Roddick improving Gauff's serve came to him. He said:
"I coached Andy (Roddick) at a young age. He's got an amazing serve. And I was thinking, 'what a great person to take a look at Coco's serve'."
According to Gilbert, Roddick's help has made Gauff's service motion much simpler. It has certainly paid dividends for Gauff as she has started the season with a bang, winning the ASB Classic title and reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open.