Coco Gauff shed light on her tie-breaker set against Elina Svitolina in their semi-final showdown at the Dubai Open. Despite losing the thrilling clash, she opened up about leaving with pride.
Gauff and Svitolina went against each other in the semi-final round on February 20 at the centre court. It was one of the most nail-biting yet exciting matches of the tournament, where the Ukrainian started strong by winning the first set of the match (6-4). The following set brought the thrill in the game, as it was the longest tie-breaker ever, with the American finally winning it with 15-13 points.
Eventually, the semi-final round victory was claimed by Svitolina, who dominated the third set, earning an overall (6-4, 6-7(15), 6-4) win. This clutch clash between the two lasted for three long hours. Shortly after this, Gauff made her feelings known about the tiebreaker round, stating that she felt like she lost years off her life.
Taking to her Instagram story, she reposted a video of the tiebreaker round shared by WTA and wrote:
“Longest tiebreaker I have ever played lol. For non-tennis people it was supposed to be first to 7 points win. But you have to win by two which took a while for us to do😂 Definitely lost years off my life during this lol,” wrote Coco Gauff.
In addition, she also shared a post on Threads, where she opened up about leaving the Dubai Tennis Championships with her head high, even though she didn’t get the result she wanted. Uploading a picture of herself from the match, she wrote:
“Left it all out there yesterday… Didn’t get the result I wanted, but man that was sm fun. Thank you Dubai!!”
Coco Gauff on About the Confidence Required When Her Serve is Not Going According to The Plan
Before competing against Elina Svitolina and Alexandra Eala in the semi-finals and quarter-finals, respectively, Coco Gauff met Elise Mertens in the round of 16. The American produced a commanding performance and registered a 2-6, 7-6(9), 6-3 win. Following this victory, she spoke to the media, where she opened up about her serve.
When asked about the confidence that is required when her serve doesn’t go according to plan, she shared the details of her form, saying:
“Yeah, I don’t know, it’s been up and down. Just changing, trying to find what’s right for me. In moments it feels great and I’m serving great; in moments, not really. I don’t know. It’s a long process. I felt like Australian Open I was serving really well. Doha, even though I lost in straight sets, still was serving pretty well. I don’t know, this tournament I haven’t been serving that well,” said Coco Gauff.
She added:
“I don’t know. I feel like knowing that I can serve well gives me confidence. I just need to figure out in these moments when it goes left how I can find it back and make it right.”
After wrapping up her Dubai Tennis Championships run, Coco Gauff is now expected to compete next at the Indian Wells.
Read More Tennis News:
1. Jessica Pegula Calls Out WTA For Controversially Photoshopping Her Body Ahead Of Dubai Open Final
2. Serena Williams Responds As Maria Sharapova Speculates On Her Comeback Tournament
3. Jessica Pegula’s Curt Reply To Troll Mocking Her For Lack Of Title Wins Before Reaching Dubai Open Final
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