"I've gone through worse things" - Coco Gauff dismisses concerns about serving struggles at Wuhan Open after Aryna Sabalenka extends sympathy
Coco Gauff committed 21 double faults in her Wuhan Open semifinal loss to Aryna Sabalenka. The American youngster has faced several defeats due to service errors, and Sabalenka, who has experienced similar struggles in the past, sympathizes with her. However, Gauff downplayed the errors, stating she's been through worse off-court challenges.
Gauff has been in fine form since splitting with Brad Gilbert and hiring Matt Daly as her coach. The 20-year-old won the China Open title last week and reached the semifinal in Wuhan without dropping a set.
Against Sabalenka, in the semifinal, she started on the front foot, winning the first set comfortably. Gauff led 4-2 in the second set before the Belarusian mounted a huge comeback to register a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
In the post-match presser, Sabalenka was asked how it felt to be on the receiving end of an opponent struggling with their serve, especially since she had dealt with similar challenges before.
The 26-year-old extended her sympathies to the American youngster and said:
"I was playing that match thinking, like, 'Well, girl, I feel you. I feel you like nobody else.' I know what she's going through. This is really difficult. This is really tough. But I know that if she'll be able to overcome this serve situation."
During Gauff's press conference later, the American was informed about Sabalenka's comments. The 2023 US Open champion dismissed concerns about her service stating that she has been through worse.
"Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't describe it as the worst time ever. I've been through worse things in off-court situations than not being able to serve well," Coco Gauff said.
"Yeah, I mean, there is moments in the match where you are just like, I just want to leave the court. I think for me, I didn't want myself to go into that mentality because it's not going to change anything. I was just trying to be positive. Today it didn't work."
Gauff also stated that she has found the solution to her problem but needs more time to work on it.
"Yeah, honestly, for me I'm not worried because I found the solution. I didn't really have time to work on it. Yeah, I'm really happy with how the last couple weeks went. I'm just trying to be positive from there," Gauff added.
Notably, Coco Gauff's 21 double faults in the Wuhan Open semifinal are the most she has committed in one match in her career. It is also the most in a WTA main draw match this season.
Aryna Sabalenka explains how she got the better of Coco Gauff in the Wuhan Open SF following a difficult first set
Before their Wuhan Open semifinal, Coco Gauff led the head-to-head against Aryna Sabalenka 4-3. Early in the match, the American was flying, and it looked like she would break the top seed's 15-0 run in Wuhan, as she won the first set in just 28 minutes.
"Honestly, I think in the first set she was just, like, crushing it. Whatever she was doing, everything was flying in. Everything was so aggressive. I didn't have many opportunities," Aryna Sabalenka said during her press conference.
In the second set, Coco Gauff had broken the Belarusian to take a 4-2 lead, and she looked on her way to a second consecutive final. However, Sabalenka tweaked her tactic and relied on Gauff's faulty service to come back into the match.
"In the second set, she dropped her speed a little bit. I was able to step in and put so much pressure on her. I was able to go in the net, finish points there, put even more pressure on her," Aryna Sabalenka said.
"Yeah, I think it was just a matter of who's going to take these first shots, like who is going to control the point. I think that's what changed in the second set. That's what changed in the third set, as well," she added.
Aryna Sabalenka will take on Zheng Qinwen in the final of the Wuhan Open after the Chinese got the better of her compatriot Wang Xinyu in the other semifinal.