No chill for Coco: Gauff ousts 9th seed in French Open debut
PARIS » Prepping in the relative warmth of a gym before heading out with leggings and long sleeves to make her French Open debut against the tournament’s No. 9 seed, Coco Gauff got a pep talk from Dad.
“His goal was to become an NBA player, and he didn’t make it. He told me: ‘You’re living your dream. Not everybody gets to do that. Just have fun on the court.’ That really changed my perspective,” the 16-year-old Gauff recounted. “I was really nervous going into the match. That just calmed me down. I realized it’s just a tennis match. I’m doing some things that people wish they could do.”
On a rather unusual start to things at Roland Garros — postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, Day 1 arrived in September instead of May, with only 1,000 spectators allowed instead of more than 30,000 as COVID-19 cases rise in France — Gauff offered the latest proof that she can do most of what she wishes to on a tennis court.
Using forehand slices to throw off her older, more experienced opponent, and unbothered by her own 12 double-faults, Gauff stayed steady at the most crucial moments to beat Johanna Konta 6-3, 6-3 and reach the second round. This was already Gauff’s fourth victory over an opponent ranked in the Top 20.
Such a far cry from last year’s French Open: Gauff failed to make it out of qualifying, while Konta was making her way to her third
Grand Slam semifinal.
Soon after, Gauff had her breakthrough at Wimbledon, becoming, at 15, the youngest qualif ier ever there on the way to the fourth round. She also made it to the fourth round at this year’s Australian Open, beating 2019 champion Naomi Osaka en route.
Only recently was there a bit of a bump in the road for Gauff: She lost four of five matches before arriving in Paris, including a firstround exit at the U.S. Open.
“When I’m on the court, I can act like I’m used to it,” she said. “When I’m off the court, I’m just happy to be here.”
Gauff joked afterward about having grown up in Florida and Georgia and not being accustomed to the sort of weather this French Open is being played in, with drizzles and temperatures in the 50s Fahrenheit (low teens Celsius).
She figured she hadn’t competed with so many layers of clothing on since she was 10. OK, not that long ago in the scheme of things, but still.
Konta, a 29-year-old from Britain who showed up to her news conference wearing a puffy red coat, observed: “Kind of as rainy and windy and rubbish weather like it is at home.”
They were not among the lucky few who got to play in the main stadium, Court Philippe Chatrier, which now boasts a $55 million retractable roof, making the French Open the last Grand Slam tournament able to hold matches indoors when it pours.
“It was much better, because we could play,” said top-seeded Simona Halep, who stretched her winning streak to 15 matches by defeating Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 6-0, “and the rain didn’t stop us at all.”
Over at Lenglen, U.S. Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka did not hide her displeasure when she was told to remain o ncourt in- rors stead of seeking shelter in the locker room while play was delayed because of a drizzle.
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time. So much is different this
mostly The conditions. empty stands The — “Having no fans stinks,” said John Isner, the 21stseeded American, who won Sunday. The new, heavier tennis balls. The lack of match play coming in.
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