American star Coco Gauff has shockingly suffered a defeat in the round of 32 from Elisabetta Cocciaretto, a qualifier from Italy, at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open tournament, which the former entered as the fourth seed. The World No. 5 has recently reflected on what led to her early exit in Doha, highlighting her need to find a balance between execution and confidence under pressure, among other things.
Coco Gauff Reveals a Transitional Error for Her Loss at the Qatar Open
Gauff entered the Qatar Open in both singles and doubles categories. Her singles run came to a brutal end following her defeat to Cocciaretto, who surpassed Ekaterine Gorgodze, Varvara Gracheva in the qualifiers, and Elsa Jacquemot in the round of 64.
In the doubles, she partnered with Victoria Mboko but failed to recreate the magic that had led her to win two doubles titles at the WTA 1000 event with partner Jessica Pegula in 2022 and 2023, as they lost in the round of 32 to Cristina Bucșa and Nicole Melichar-Martinez.
The native of Palm Beach County, Florida, lost her singles match to the former World No. 29 in two sets, with a final scoreline of 6-4, 6-2. After the match, the two-time Major champion acknowledged that her level in recent matches is not high. Furthermore, Gauff added that she is discovering how to execute at the same level as she does in her practice matches and how to assert herself with her form under pressure.
She mentioned, “I just feel like I haven’t showed up with my best level the last few matches. I’m just looking to find that again. I just feel some of the things I’ve been working on in practice aren’t translating to the match court, which is super frustrating. I’ve been having good practices, but just not playing well in the matches. I just need to find how it can translate.”
Gauff continued, reflecting on her opponent’s dominance, who overcame her in straight sets, “I tried to be more aggressive and was hitting more unforced errors. When I tried to be a little more passive and play with more shape, she was taking the ball early and crushing the ball. Physically, I know I can do it and I can do it when there’s not much pressure. I need to figure out how to do it when there’s more pressure.”
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Whereas Cocciaretto, after defeating the American, achieved a notable feat; for the first time, she reached the round of 16 in a WTA 1000 event. After the victory, she light-heartedly revealed that her boosted form could be attributed to the impressive performances the Italians are achieving at the Winter Olympics.
The Ancona native added, “I’m more focused on the Winter Olympics than on the tournament, cheering for the Italian athletes. Maybe that was the key, that’s why I’m playing better. But jokes apart, playing more matches helps you to win more matches, for sure.”
Before her Qatar Open feats, Cocciaretto clinched the women’s singles title at the Hobart International after defeating Iva Jovic in the final round.
