New York, Aug 29: This would not have been easy for anyone, and it was not easy for Coco Gauff. She is aware of the expectations of others. She has her own expectations, too, of course.
An exit in the second round of the U.S. Open on Thursday night simply would not do. And double-faulting her way to defeat might just be the worst possible scenario. So after she missed two consecutive serves to get broken and fall behind in the opening set against Donna Vekic in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Gauff felt overwhelmed and couldn’t hide it.
The tears came. They wouldn’t stop. She covered her face with a towel on the sideline. When she walked back out on court after the changeover, Gauff kept dabbing at her eyes between points, trying to focus, trying to figure out a way to win. After she did just that, straightening out her serving issues in the second set and eliminating Vekic 7-6 (5), 6-2, Gauff cried some more.
“I just show people what it’s like to be a human, and I have bad days, but I think it’s more about how you get up after those bad moments and how you show up after that,” said Gauff, who is seeded No. 3 at Flushing Meadows, where she won the first of her two Grand Slam titles in 2023. “I think today I showed that I can get up after feeling the worst I’ve ever felt on the court.” Her serving woes resurface from time to time, including when 19 double-faults contributed to a loss that ended her title defense in New York a year ago. (AP)
