On August 31, America’s Coco Gauff defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania in a second-round match in the U.S. Open by 6-2, 7-6(4).
Despite being the second youngest player left in the women’s draw, 18-year old Gauff remains as one of the favorites to win the US Open title along with top-ranked Iga Swiatek. Being able to come this far, the teenager has exceeded the expectations of the audience.
“Getting to a final, I think people expect you to get over that final hurdle, and that’s something I expect of myself too because I know I feel it in me that I can repeat it and do it again,” Gauff was quoted as saying by WTA. “I didn’t expect myself to be so nervous before the final. Now that I know what to expect, I expect myself to at least do better.”
Ruse has registered many accolades to her name. This includes becoming the second-youngest WTA doubles No.1 in history, and seeding alongside Pegula this fortnight. She’s also No.6 in the WTA Race to the Finals for singles players on the strength of advancing to the quarterfinals in Toronto.
As of 2022, Gauff has now doubled up her 2022 match results with 32 wins against 16 defeats. There were occasions when Gauff looked annoyed and in pressure. She understands it’s something that she needs to clean up going forward.
“Regarding the pressure, I learned in my life that you just have to accept it, you can’t ignore it,” she said. “It’s going to be there. You feel it. Everybody else feels it for you. So instead of trying to say, ‘I’m not nervous,’ I’m saying, ‘I am nervous, I do feel pressure, I do feel this’. Now once you acknowledge a problem, you can solve it.”
In her next match, Gauff will be facing America’s Madison Keys, one of the three seeded Americans that are through to the third round in bottom half. Shelby Rogers and Alison Riske-Amritraj are the other two seeded players.
(Inputs from IANS)