By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, July 5, 2021
Reflecting on her fourth-round Wimbledon loss to Angelique Kerber, Coco Gauff believes she can be a greater Grand Slam threat if she can create a balanced blend of offense and defense on pressure points.
The 25th-seeded Kerber converted four of five break points in a 6-4, 6-4 win over Gauff that sent the German into her first Grand Slam final since she toppled Serena Williams to capture the 2018 Wimbledon crowd. Kerber's quickness around the court and precise counter-strikes down the line were the difference.
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"She did a good job of making me compete and making me play, and I feel like some moments in the match I outhit myself out of the match, and I think sometimes the best decision is just to put the ball in play and see what your opponent can do," Gauff said. "I think that's what she did well today. And also changing direction...
"I'm happy that I had a competitive match. Like I said, there are points I could have gone better, but she played a great match. If she continues to play this way, I think she'll go far in the tournament and continue to win matches and maybe go all the way. I mean, she got to a lot of balls. I think her making me play the extra ball definitely frustrated me a little bit."
The 17-year-old Gauff can draw on plenty of positives from her European summer, including holding set points against eventual French Open singles champion Barbora Krejcikova before bowing in the Roland Garros quarterfinals and her second straight trip to the Wimbledon round of 16.
Gauff blasted the fastest serve of the ladies' tournament blistering a 125 mph serve and against Kerber she touched 124 mph on the radar with six aces, but the German put a lot of serves back into play.
In the aftermath of today's loss, Gauff said she must learn to channel power with patience and find a middle gear to go deeper in majors.
"I have been playing aggressive and being movingforward is a part of my game, but I feel like today,because she's a quick player, I think in the back of my mind I always had to go for more when sometimes it's better just to let your opponent try and see they can get to the ball," Gauff said. "There were times I had a lot of unforced errors just strictly for the fact of trying to go for too much, and in the matches in the past I have had tendencies to play too passive, and now I'm playing too aggressive.
"I think I just need to find the medium for when the score is tight and I'm feeling the pressure. I need to find a good middle and that's what I need to work on."
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