Archive of posts tagged Coco

Coco Gauff quickly shuts down Victoria Mboko comparisons

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Coco Gauff refused to compare Victoria Mboko to herself and also added that others should not engage in such conversations because it would be "unfair" toward the 18-year-old Canadian.

On Tuesday, the rising Canadian star – who is ranked at No. 85 in the world – registered her biggest win by ousting the top-seeded American 6-1 6-4 in the round-of-16 of the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal. 

From start to finish, it was Mboko who had the upper hand as the 18-year-old impressively converted four of her five break point chances, as well as saved all of Gauff's five break point opportunities. 

Before making her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal in Montreal, Mboko won five ITF titles earlier this year. The Canadian, who was ranked at No. 333 when the 2025 season, is now guaranteed to improve at least 30 spots on Monday and be ranked inside the top-55 for the first time in her career. 

Even before beating Gauff, Mboko drew certain comparisons to the American, who had a rapid start to her career. Those conversations only increased after the 18-year-old's impressive win on Saturday. 

Gauff: I don't think it's fair to put that on Mboko

"No, she's a completely different player, completely different person. I've never been one to compare myself to others, whether it be like people comparing me to Serena or Venus, and I don't think it's fair to put that on her as well. Yeah, but I do see someone who is going to have a really bright future, for sure," the 21-year-old American responded when asked if she recognized herself in the Canadian.

Gauff didn't want to compare Mboko to herself but she gladly said what she liked about the Canadian's game.

"I mean, she's very athletic. She's a great ball striker, and she seems pretty positive out there on the court, doesn't get really too negative," the two-time Grand Slam winner explained.

Victoria Mboko asked what went through her head while Coco Gauff was spraying errors

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Victoria Mboko claims she didn't think much or put any focus on Coco Gauff making errors on the court as she just wanted to stay locked in on executing her own tactics. 

In front of their home fans, the 18-year-old Canadian pulled off a big upset and recorded the biggest win of her career after ousting the current world No. 2 and two-time Grand Slam champion 6-1 6-4 to reach the Montreal quarterfinal. 

Going into the match, Gauff had struggled in her first two matches with double faults and unforced errors. And right from the start of their round-of-16 clash, Mboko took full control of the match and she was all over the top seed. 

While the American tennis star found her footing in the second set, Mboko was still the one who came up big when it mattered the most, saving four break points in the seventh game before collecting the key break in the 10th game.

During the match, Gauff had six double faults and 24 unforced errors. 

Mboko asked what crossed her mind when Gauff started making 'a lot of mistakes'

"Well, I mean, nothing really crosses my mind just because, I mean, that's the game. People make errors. It happens. I make errors too. So I was just really focused on myself and what I had to do. I didn't really focus as much as what she was doing in the match because I just wanted to play as solid of a game as I possibly could. I just wanted to do what I was supposed to do in the match and hope for the best," the world No. 85 explained.

When it comes to her own stats, Mboko was impressive – she had five break points and converted five of those. Also, the 18-year-old didn't allow Gauff to realize any of her five break point chances.

In her post-match presser, Gauff spoke highly of the rising Canadian tennis star and tipped her to have a bright future.

For a place in the Montreal semifinal, Mboko meets Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

Montreal: Coco Gauff reduces double fault number but still gets ousted by world No.85

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Coco Gauff reduced her double fault number against Victoria Mboko but still easily lost her Montreal round-of-16 match after the world No. 85 picked up a 6-1 6-4 win in just an hour and two minutes of play.

Right out the gate, rising Canadian star Mboko wanted to show that she came to play and she did so by impressively breaking the top seed three times in the first set to bag the opener.

After easily dropping the opening set, Gauff stabilized on her serve, but also failed to convert any of her four break points in the seventh game. That came back to haunt the American, who got broken in the 10th game of the second set – the game in which she was serving to stay in the match.

Through her first two Montreal matches, Gauff fired a total of 37 double faults. Against Mboko, the top seed had six double faults. But the issue was that she won only 12 of her 27 second serve points – saved only one of five break points she faced – all while also not realizing any of her five break points.

In her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal, Mboko will play against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

Mboko paid tribute to Gauff after their Montreal match

After sealing the biggest win of her career, the 18-year-old Canadian declared the 21-year-old American "a great champion."

“It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion," the world No. 85 said after beating the two-time Grand Slam winner.

Gauff also spoke highly of the rising Canadian tennis star, tipping her to do some nice things.

“I’m sure we’re going to have many more battles in the future. Yeah, I think she’s going to have a lot of success on tour," Gauff said of the 18-year-old.

World No. 51 Bouzas Maneiro is a pretty favorable quarterfinal matchup for Mboko and the home favorite will definitely like her chances of also making the Montreal semifinal.

Coco Gauff confesses one mistake she probably made after Montreal run ends in R16

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Coco Gauff made an honest admission following her Montreal exit as the American tennis star admitted that she probably should have played in Washington and tried to kickstart her summer on hard courts in the United States capital.

After losing in the Wimbledon first round, Gauff went a full month without playing a match. This week, the world No. 2 returned to action by kicking off her North American hard-court swing at the WTA 1000 in Montreal. In Canada, the two-time Grand Slam champion heavily struggled with her serve and rhythm, but still managed to clinch ugly wins over Danielle Collins and Veronika Kudermetova before world No. 87 Victoria Mboko handed her a 6-1 6-4 loss.

Across her three matches played, Gauff served 43 double faults and committed over 100 unforced errors. After the Mboko loss, the reigning French Open winner was asked if she had an idea why it was so hard to find her game and rhythm in Montreal.

Gauff: Deciding to practice over playing in Washington maybe wasn't the right decision…

"I don't know. That's a good question, honestly. I felt like in practice I was playing well the last few weeks just practicing. I decided to take some time off and not play DC to actually focus on that, and maybe that wasn't the right decision. Maybe it was better to get more matches under my belt. But you know, it's the first tournament on the hard court season, so I'm hoping that in Cincy and in New York I can find that rhythm," the world No. 2 explained.

In four days, the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati is starting. While Gauff's Montreal run wasn't an impressive run, the 21-year-old still got some matches under her belt and that's a positive thing.

Cincinnati is a special place for Gauff, who lifted her maiden WTA 1000 crown in front of her home fans two years ago.

Ex-Slam champ finds it 'unbelievable' how Coco Gauff has been surviving in Montreal

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Former three-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport says it is "unbelievable" that Coco Gauff has been winning matches in Montreal so far this week with her "C-level tennis."

So far, Gauff is two out of two at this year's Canadian Open. But both of her opening two matches were an absolute slugfest. Against Danielle Collins, the top seed sprayed a shocking 23 double faults and 74 unforced errors but still won 7-5 4-6 7-6 (2). In her following match, the two-time Grand Slam winner was down by a set a break – she fired 14 double faults – but somehow still found a way to beat Veronika Kudermetova 4-6 7-5 6-2.

As you could notice, Gauff's serving has been disastrous this week. But the top-seeded American is still alive and set to fight against Victoria Mboko for a place in the Montreal quarterfinal.

Davenport on Gauff's display in Montreal: Unbelievable she wins with her C-level tennis

“It was interesting she kept looking down at her grip when she was serving. It looked like they were trying to make some changes with the serve. She was not comfortable with it yet. It looks like they know it’s a problem and she didn’t have the confidence with it last night. Her toss was all over the place. But she still wins. It’s unbelievable her ability to figure out ways to win when she is playing, honestly, C-level tennis out there. She did a fantastic job managing her emotions," Davenport said on Tennis Channel.

Gauff's serving issues have been a major topic for the past two years. At times, the 21-year-old serves better consistently and that's when she usually does well. However, there are also periods when she simply can't catch any rhythm on her serve and that usually leads to some shock losses.

In Montreal, Gauff twice avoided picking a surprise defeat. It remains to be seen how she plays against Mboko.

Coco Gauff 'disappointed' in herself after another painful Montreal serving display

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Coco Gauff admits she is disappointed in herself when it comes to her serving display in Montreal but also adds she is happy with the fact that so far she has managed to find ways to win ugly.

In the Montreal third round, the American – who is seeded at No. 1 in the absence of Aryna Sabalenka – sprayed 14 double faults against Veronika Kudermetova and she was down by a set and a break at one point. With her back turned against the wall and her serve not working, the two-time Grand Slam champion pulled off a big second-set comeback – gradually improved her serve as the match went on – and avoided a shock loss by beating world No. 42 Kudermetova 4-6 7-5 6-2.

Gauff, who had a first-round bye, also double-faulted 23 times during her opening Montreal win over Danielle Collins – that makes it 37 double faults across two matches played at the Canadian Open.

Gauff: I'm disappointed in myself when it comes to the serve part

"Yeah, I mean, there's positives and there's negatives. Obviously, I am so disappointed in myself when it comes to that part of the game just because I didn't play DC to work on that and made changes to that and doing well in practice and serving really well in practice. Yeah, so I just would like for it to transfer to the match. It does give positives that," the top seed said.

"'Okay, I'm winning these matches having literally like one part of my game on a crutch.' So it's like if I can stand on both feet, then I can only imagine that it would be a lot more straightforward and a lot more easier for me."

Gauff plays next against rising Canadian star Victoria Mboko. They met three months ago in Rome for the first time and the American was tested by the world No. 85 before coming back to win 3-6 6-2 6-1.

Gauff is evidently not happy with how she has served so far in Montreal and she will definitely emphasize doing much better in that department against Mboko.