“You say to Coco Gauff, 'You’re not defending US Open, those points are gone'” – Journalist questions American's mentality after Cincinnati Open exit
Coco Gauff's poor run of form has led tennis journalist Jon Wertheim to question her mentality as she crashed out of the 2024 Cincinnati Open. The American lost to World No. 34 Yulia Putintseva in her opener on Thursday, August 15.
Gauff cut a clumsy figure on the court while serving, as she committed a total of nine double faults and was broken five times. While she converted five break opportunities on Putintseva's serve, the latter proved too good for her and eventually won the match at 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Coco Gauff hasn't won any trophies since triumphing at the ASB Classic in Auckland this January. Moreover, she hasn't been able to reach the quarterfinal stage in her last four tournaments, including Wimbledon (R16), the Olympics (R16), the Canadian Open (R16), and the Cincinnati Open (R32) as the defending champion most recently.
On this, noted tennis journalist Jon Wertheim raised concerns over the 20-year-old's mindset.
"Not sure if it’s her game or just sort of mental approach. We didn’t see her best at Wimbledon, we didn’t see her best at the Olympics, which I know is a disappointment, we didn’t see it in Canada, we didn’t see it today," Wertheim said. (via Tennis Channel).
He suggested the 20-year-old would be better off if she reset ahead of her title defense at the 2024 US Open.
"I think you say to her, ‘Listen, you’re not defending a US Open title, those points are gone, you’re trying to create, you’re trying to start something, you’re trying to start building’. Last year she had so much momentum going into New York… very little now," he added.
Jon Wertheim on Coco Gauff's Cincinnati Open loss: "That is not how you want to go out before you go and defend the one Major you’ve won"
In the same conversation at Tennis Channel, Jon Wertheim further put a question mark on Coco Gauff's chances at the 2024 US Open, saying:
"It's fortunate, things change quickly in this sport, we’ve seen it with Coco, sort of good and bad but yeah, 16 of the last 18 points… that is not how you want to go out before you go and defend the one Major you’ve won."
Coco Gauff steamed her way to the US Open women's singles title in 2023 with triumphs at the Citi Open and Cincinnati Masters. She defeated Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka in the final with a comeback effort.
In her preparatory swing for the New York event this year, Gauff finds herself with a 1-2 win-loss record from her participation at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Masters.