Coco Gauff spent a lot of her post-match news conference talking about her serve. It’s a singular focus why she hired Gavin MacMillan, a biomechanics specialist who was critical in solving Aryna Sabalenka’s service issues.
In particular in the third set when she was broken at 5-4 serving for the match, Gauff admitted old habits started creeping in.
💬 “Honestly, that third set was the definition of that. That game where I served it at 5-4, that was definitely like an old habit. The next game was a lot better.
“I think the more I get confident, the more I can go for it. I don’t think I served so fast today. I would like to get up there in the numbers, but I know I have to get a lot of reps in…
“Yeah, it’s definitely tough going through the match and battling that internal battle. Especially this is the first tournament (since the serve change). The universe happens how it is, but I wish I could have done this maybe in Montreal.”
But things are looking positively for Gauff, who hopes that the serve will get better with time and reps.
💬 “I feel like it’s in the right direction, and I think for me it’s trying not to go back to old habits in those tighter moments.”
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Coco Gauff is fixing her serve to start the U.S. Open – and the rest of her tennis career
