The sight of a forlorn Coco Gauff hitting serves in the rain on the US Open practice courts became the defining image of her struggles last year.
The serving issues were undermining the two-time major champion’s talent. Staying out in the persistent drizzle was a sign of how desperate she had become to iron out the major flaw in her game.
Twelve months on, the 22-year-old American has returned to the US Open with a rejuvenated service game — and it was the bedrock of her 6-3, 6-4 win over Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez in the New York first round on Tuesday.
Gauff’s swift opening hold to love set the tone for a dominant first set, and she then used her opening shot to get her out of trouble, when Sonmez threatened in the second set.
“Now it’s like I can look back a year on and think, ‘Oh, wow, it’s a big difference’,” said Gauff, who is seeded fourth at Flushing Meadows this year.
“It feels good to come into a tournament feeling confident on that shot finally.”
On the eve of her home Slam last year, Gauff decided to reshuffle her coaching team and hired biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan — who helped four-time major champion Aryna Sabalenka overcome serving troubles earlier in her career.
It was a drastic move. But one which Gauff felt was unavoidable after hitting a high number of double faults at the preceding Cincinnati Open.
Tweaking technique heading into the US Open — where she receives frenzied attention – was always going to be a risk.
So it was no surprise when Gauff suffered a fourth-round exit in a tournament where she looked fraught throughout and was reduced to tears during matches.
That was then. Now Gauff possesses a serve which is a serious weapon – even though she still leaks some double faults.
“Last year I literally was like I hope I make it in. It’s such a big difference knowing almost every serve I’m trying to basically hit 110, 115, 120mph if I can.”
(BBC)
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