After escaping yet another scare at the China Open, Coco Gauff has defended her choice to bring on new coach Matt Daly.
After falling behind Paula Badosa in the semi-final on Saturday by a set and a break, the world No. 6 player appeared dejected.
However, she came storming back with a 4-6 6-4 6-2 victory to secure her place in the title match.
After a dismal fourth-round exit at the US Open, the American stated that she wanted to work on her serve with Daly.
Beijing is still not easy to navigate. During her march to the final, Gauff hit 31 double faults overall, including 11 against Badosa. However, the American is standing by her choice to include Daly in her group.
She explained her decision to seek out a new mentor, saying, “Obviously, I’m very young right now, so I’m looking just for someone to help me develop in the long-term process, try to help make my game as complete as I can be.”
Well, in my opinion, the relationship that led to the addition of Matt to the team was quite recent—we hardly had a week to focus on training before we had to travel to China for the competition.
Gauff is back in the final, where she won the ASB Classic in January. Even though nobody can see what they’re doing on the practice court, she thinks her work with Daly is paying off.
“We’re working on a lot of developmental things,” she said further. He’s excellent. Of course, Jean-Christophe Faurel (JC) is still a member of the squad.
For me, it involved attempting to combine two individuals who complement one other nicely. Thus far, it appears to be yielding positive results. I believe it’s wonderful, especially behind the scenes and everything you guys don’t see.
Regardless of whether I lost in the first round or the final this week, I’m satisfied with my choice. Yes, I’m glad he’s a member of the team. I think he’s already coming along quite a bit. He and JC get along great.
With the title on the line, Gauff will now go on Karolina Muchova. The 20-year-old said, “I played her twice, both on hard court,” giving a sneak peek at their matchup. She is a formidable foe.
She’s among the top players on the circuit, in my opinion. She simply had a few unfortunate run-ins with injuries. Still, it’s encouraging to see her well again. That will be a challenging match. She poses a threat.