“I am proud to have succeeded in reversing the course of the season”

Coco Gauff was the protagonist of a high-level Roland Garros 2023, stopped in the quarter-finals by world No. 1 and defending champion Iga Swiatek. Gauff said she was satisfied with the progress made, especially on the mental level.

The young American tennis player spoke on this subject and on her defeat against Swiatek, during a press conference, also speaking on the events to come, in particular the double at Roland Garros and the next Wimbledon.

She said: “I’m proud of the way I played against Swiatek. I think of my victory over Mirra Andreeva, of having managed to win the match after losing the first set.

I remained calm and I am satisfied with this aspect. Also today, after losing the first set, I had the opportunity at the start of the second to come back into the game with the right concentration.

Now there is the doubles tournament and then we have to focus on the next Grand Slam, Wimbledon, which is special to me. A lot of people say I don’t like it, but I love weed and can’t wait to get better.

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Coco on the match against Swiatek

Coco spoke about the lost match against Swiatek: “I lost a lot of points because of some details and then there are my mistakes, like when I was leading 40-15 on his serve but got it wrong twice in my ripostes.

Did I hit Iga at the net? It’s not my style to hit my opponent. I didn’t try to hit her, I was just trying to hit the ball hard in the middle of the court, and she obviously hit her.

I apologized later, but I think that’s part of the game. If you hit a bad ball and decide to run towards the net, there’s always a chance you’ll get hit, and there’s always a chance the person makes a mistake trying to avoid you.

It worked the first time, but not the second. But if I was her, I wouldn’t even be mad at myself for running ahead. I think when I apologized, she just shook her head, realizing that was the only chance I really had.”I fought a lot following my game plan, but of course you have to focus on your side of the field and also on the opposite side.

I tried to strike a good balance and make sure I always did the things I felt comfortable with while forcing her to punch in ways that weren’t comfortable for her. I was several times one step away from the decisive break point for the set.

These are details that I have to work on and do even better, because in the first set the difference was really only a few points. Obviously, when you lose against someone, you feel bad.

It’s not pleasant, but when I walk onto the pitch, I never think about the last game played. I see in each match a new opportunity to win and play at my best level. If I keep thinking about losing, I will never win.

I think I have improved a lot in some aspects of the game. My responses have been very effective and aggressive in this tournament. I tried again today, but it didn’t go well. But I see improvements and I’m happy about that.”