Coco Gauff has staged a compelling resurgence with her run at the Miami Open, advancing to the summit clash despite a title-less season and a concerning arm injury suffered at the BNP Paribas Open. Her turnaround has not gone unnoticed, with former American players Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson among those who have acknowledged it.
What Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson Said About Coco Gauff’s Miami Open Run
Gauff is yet to claim a title this season, with her Miami Open campaign helping put questions about her form to rest. She began the year with a quarterfinal exit at the Australian Open, followed by a disappointing second-round loss at the Qatar Open.
The American showed signs of improvement at the Dubai Duty Free Championships, reaching the semifinals, where she was eventually beaten by seventh seed Elina Svitolina.
Just as it seemed the 22-year-old was building momentum, a concerning arm injury abruptly halted her run at the BNP Paribas Open, with Alexandra Eala leading 6-2, 2-0. The turnaround time from that injury to the Miami Open was brief, but Gauff recovered swiftly and mounted a strong comeback.
Although she did not fully assert her dominance in the early rounds, it is important to note that she was coming off an injury setback. She progressed steadily through the draw, winning all her matches up to a hard-fought three-set victory over Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals. She then elevated her level significantly, dominating Karolína Muchová 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals to storm into the summit clash.
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Gauff has indeed made waves with her resurgence, prompting pundits, including former players Querrey and Johnson, to discuss her run. On the recent episode of the “Nothing Major” show, Querrey suggested that the two-time Major champion rediscovered her confidence in Miami.
Despite not playing her best early on, she kept winning, improved with each round, and capped it with a dominant semifinal win over Karolína Muchová.
“Coco Gauff takes out Muchová. One and One. Coco is back! Just like Arthur Fils is back, Coco is back. I kind of said this on Monday, ‘Does Coco need a big result?’ I can’t remember if I asked that to you or John. Whoever answered was like, ‘I don’t know.’ I thought she did, but this is the result. One and one in a semifinals,” he said.
“She is into the semifinals of Miami. I feel Coco has got her rizz back. See how many times I can use that word in this episode. Muchová is good as we know. And just one on one, Coco was not playing her best early in the tournament. I didn’t think, but winning matches, won some three setters and seems like she is playing better and better as the tournament goes and that is a dominant score line,” he added.
It is also worth noting that Gauff took her flawless head-to-head record against Muchová to 6-0. Johnson later joined the conversation and highlighted the significance of Gauff’s one-sided triumph over the Czech despite enduring a somewhat shaky start in Miami.
“Yeah, that was dominant. And she is 6 and 0 against Muchová. So there is maybe just something about that matchup that just sets Coco’s eyes and her game style really well. But she was great. I watched this one yesterday. It was dominant, this had no doubt written all over it from first to last ball,” he said.
“And just fell like Muchová was kind of defeated a little bit out there. You can see as the points wore on, as the games wore on, she just didn’t have a game plan of how to even get back into this match. And credit to Coco. She struggled early in this tournament. And I think I had mentioned there is no reason to hit the panic button because the clay is coming up. I could be way off on that, but this is a big week for her,” he added.
Johnson highlighted that she is in strong form, having reached the final of a tournament she deeply values due to her local connection. With her serve clicking and confidence growing, he believes the 22-year-old is currently playing at a level where she can challenge and also beat any opponent.
“I mean, she’s making finals. She’s talked about it a lot that she wants to win Miami. Like, that’s a big one for her to win as someone who’s from that area. And she is doing a great job right now. She is going to have her work cut out for her in the finals. But as of now, she is playing great tennis. She is competing extremely well. The serve is clicking. So right now feels as if everything is going the right direction and when that is the case she is obviously one of the best players in the world and can beat anyone,” he concluded.
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Notably, Gauff candidly admitted earlier this week that she had considered withdrawing from the Miami Open. She added that, at a different point in the calendar, she likely would have opted to recover.
Nonetheless, the World No. 4 has rediscovered her form, but the task ahead remains tough, with World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka awaiting her. Their head-to-head is currently locked at 6-6, adding further intrigue to the contest. However, PFSN’s exclusive simulator gives Sabalenka a 75% chance of victory, as she eyes completing the Sunshine Double.
