"I think we take Coco Gauff for granted a little bit just because we've gotten to know her for a minute now" - Andy Roddick
Coco Gauff opened her 2022 Italian Open campaign with a resounding 6-1, 6-4 win over former World No. 1 Angelique Kerber. The American, who suffered a tough loss against Simona Halep in her last outing in Madrid, was quick to bounce back and looked to be in complete control of her game.
Former pro Andy Roddick heaped praise on the youngster's performance during an interview with the Tennis Channel. Highlighting Gauff's claycourt prowess, Roddick said she is at times overlooked in favor of some of the other youngsters who have just started out.
The former World No. 1 said Gauff's forehand, which is better suited for slower surfaces as well as her mental toughness, made her a huge threat on clay.
"I think we take her for granted a little bit just because we've gotten to know her for a minute now, right?" Roddick said. "She's been around. It's got to be what three four years since that Wimbledon run, but I like her forehand a little bit better on the on the slower surfaces."
"She has time to actually create her natural trajectory," he continued. "Which is a little bit more of a loop. I think her serving out a tough one was good for her. I think on the heels of last week in Madrid where, you know, frankly there's no other way to say it and I love Coco, but her serve completely fell apart at the end of the match against Halep last week."
Roddick said he was impressed by the youngster's ability to put a bad loss behind her and come back with renewed focus, which she exhibited in her opening match against Kerber.
"For her to kind of take that bump, it wasn't pretty, it had to be some stressful conversations afterwards and to come back and kind of re-gauge everything and come out and play a really strong match against Angie Kerber," Roddick said.
"I thought it was a great performance for Coco," he continued. "Especially there had to be a little bit of lingering scar tissue after last week's loss in the way it happened."
"This is a surface that I think Coco Gauff looks forward to getting back on" - Chanda Rubin
Chanda Rubin, another former pro, echoed Roddick's views on clay being Coco Gauff's preferred surface in the same interview.
Rubin said the youngster moved well on clay, adding that the surface also allowed her the extra bit of time on her forehand, reducing the chances of errors creeping into her game. She did, however, point out that there was plenty of room for improvement in the serving department.
"It's always a concern," Rubin said. "I think you know that for an aggressive server whose serve is a real weapon, you don't like that feeling that uncertain feeling of not knowing when the double faults will start to creep in when it could be a problem."
"This is a surface that I think she looks forward to getting back on each year," she contuned. "I mean, this is where she has a little bit more time where her movement is even more of a factor. She can defend, she can go from defense to offense and can just feel a little bit more comfortable when she's under pressure."
@CocoGauff advances to the second round after defeating Kerber 6-1, 6-4!A quality finish for Coco 💪
🇺🇸 @CocoGauff advances to the second round after defeating Kerber 6-1, 6-4!
#IBI22 https://t.co/zCm1ckoomb