"The biggest target is winning a Grand Slam, I definitely feel ready"- Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff kickstarted her 2022 season with an emphatic 6-2, 6-1 win over Norwegian qualifier Ulrikke Eikeri at the Adelaide International. She is now slated to do battle against World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the second round.
In her post-match conference, the American talked about how she prepared for 2022 in the off-season. She explained that she worked on improving every facet of her game and expressed her hopes of translating all of that effort onto the court.
"The strategy of any pre-season for anyone is obviously to physically get better, which I felt like I did do that this pre-season," Coco Gauff said. "Tennis-wise working on the whole game. There were some parts of my game that I worked on more than others. Not a shot that we didn't work on. I felt like I had a good pre-season. I hope this season can show that."
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The 17-year-old proceeded to shed light on her goals for the season. She revealed that winning a maiden Grand Slam title would be her biggest target going forward. Having already made a Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros and the doubles final at the US Open in 2021, Gauff feels she is now ready to aim for the ultimate prize.
"The biggest target is winning a Grand Slam," the World No. 22 said. "That's the goal. I would say handling my emotions a little bit better is something I need to work on, and I worked on. I definitely feel ready. I think I felt ready pretty much after 2019 Wimbledon. I think making second weeks in multiple Grand Slams, I think it shows that I can play at that level."
"I think this would be a perfect kind of test for me"- Coco Gauff on facing Ashleigh Barty
During her press conference, Coco Gauff spoke about how facing Ashleigh Barty would be the "perfect kind of test" ahead of the Australian Open. Gauff won their only previous encounter at the Italian Open in 2021.
The American also reiterated that her biggest focus is the Grand Slams and that she is keen to get enough matches under her belt before the Melbourne Major.
"If anything, you want to play the best player - currently she's No. 1 - early in the season," Gauff said. "You got some things to look forward to, especially Australian Open coming up. This is probably the best matchup I could get."
"Obviously you want to win every tournament you play. But the big focus is the Grand Slams. For me playing this tournament was to see how many matches, consecutive matches, I could get in before Australian Open. I think this would be a perfect kind of test for me," she added.