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Cold Coco Gauff stunned in pre-Wimbledon event
TENNIS STAR Coco Gauff will move to next week’s Wimbledon warm-up event at Eastbourne after crashing out to Ekaterina Alexandrova in the 2nd round at Berlin yesterday.
The teenager, believed by many that she has a strong chance of securing a maiden grand slam title at the All England next month (July 3), whimpered out 6-4 6-0 to the Russian world no.22.
Fifth seed Gauff was amazingly clinical when she dropped just seven games in her opening round match against Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova.
Yet against the Russian she allowed the opening set to slip from her grasp, and was completely overpowered with an incredible 27 forehand errors ending her interest in the tournament.
The 19-year-old American ace had defeated Alexandrova in their only previous encounter, bouncing back from two match points against her to secure a tight three-set success at the 2021 Dubai Tennis Championships.
Both players were armed with a strong serve and a style of play suited to grass, with the first set a topsy-turvy affair. It was always anticipated that this would be a closely-fought contest, especially as Alexandrova successfully defended her title last week by lifting Libema Open in the Netherlands.
Gauff was typically scrambling all over the court in a bid to hit every ball, and swiftly took control of the net to race into a 3-1 lead with a break of serve.
Yet Alexandrova cranked through the gears to immediately break back, then eased into a tense 4-4 stalemate to delight the crowd, but was brimming with confidence after winning a WTA Tour tournament.
Gauff saved four break points in the ninth game by converting some powerful winners, but a thumping volley on the fifth break point gave the 28-year-old the momentum.
Alexandrova then hit cruise control, serving out the set in style, and left Gauff on the back foot throughout the second set.
Although Gauff fended off three break points in the opening game of the set, her weak forehand shot into the net left her trailing.
The teenager lacked her usual tenaciousness. Her seemingly endless string of misfiring forehands and wayward shots saw the contest become a one-sided affair that silenced the spectators.
Gauff simply buckled under the pressure against a tactically astute opponent to crumble, losing 11 of the final dozen games, and bow out with a whimper.
The world no.6 will set off to the sleepy south coast seaside resort of Eastbourne to compete in her final tournament before having another shot at scooping the top honours at Wimbledon.
Seeded three at Eastbourne’s Devonshire Park, she sits behind top seed and compatriot Jessica Pegula and no.2 seed Elena Rybakina — Kazakhstan’s reigning Wimbledon champion.
The entry list comprises seven of the world’s top 10, including twice-Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, with an announcement yet to be confirmed as to whether 43-year-old American icon Venus Williams will be given a wildcard entry.
