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Andy Roddick praised\u00a0Coco Gauff\u2019s US Open title win and thinks it came at a crucial time for the sport as some of\u00a0tennis’\u00a0biggest icons bid farewell after decades of dominance in the past year.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Serena Williams played the final match of her illustrious career at the 2022 US Open, while 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer hung up his racket less than a month later. Although fellow legends Rafael Nadal and Venus Williams remain active, their age and injuries are catching up with them and their exit from tennis may not be too far away.<\/p>\n
As the sport looks to the next generation for new stars, Gauff, who has been tipped for superstardom since she defeated Venus at Wimbledon in 2019, broke through to capture the US Open for her first Grand Slam title. Following her remarkable comeback victory over the hard-hitting Aryna Sablenka in the final, Roddick \u2014 the last American man to win at Flushing Meadows in 2003 \u2014 made a bold point regarding the significance of Gauff\u2019s win.<\/p>\n
“I was one of the dummies who questioned whether there would be a vacuum in tennis post-Roger and Rafa and Serena, so the timing of Coco Gauff\u2019s win couldn\u2019t have been better, especially here in the U.S.,\u201d the former World No. 1 wrote in his Betway column. \u201cVenus and Serena were Coco\u2019s idols, so to announce herself on the Grand Slam stage in the first year of the US Open after Serena\u2019s retirement \u2013 a tournament where we saw Serena carry the public interest for a couple of decades \u2013 is pretty poetic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gauff entered the final major of the year under enormous pressure, especially after capturing the Washington and Cincinnati titles before heading to New York. But she embraced it and overcame some tough tests before defeating Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in just over two hours to secure the biggest win of her career.<\/p>\n
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The 19-year-old’s elite movement, athleticism and defensive abilities were the foundation on which her comeback was built. She forced the Belarusian into making some mistakes as she struggled to control her emotions and deal with the U.S. crowd backing Gauff.<\/p>\n
Roddick assessed the teenager\u2019s performance and her ability to change her game plan to turn the match around. \u201cShe didn\u2019t play her best every single match, including the final, so the most impressive thing to me was the adjustment in strategy and turning her average days into three-set wins,\u201d the former Wimbledon finalist added.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe tried to go more toe-to-toe with Aryna Sabalenka in the first set and realised that wasn\u2019t going to work, so she needed to make her hit as many shots as possible and rely on her legs. She went with the mentality of saying, \u2018I\u2019m going to be a volume shooter, you\u2019re going to have to beat me four or five times in a rally and I\u2019m going to bring 25,000 of my closest friends into this match, too.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seemed to be a little too much for Sabalenka, who deserves credit for being the new No.1 in the world. It\u2019s not the US Open title that she wanted, but it\u2019s a hell of a consolation prize.\u201d There are many people Gauff has thanked for her success, one of which is new coach Brad Gilbert.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Don’t miss… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n Following her early exit from Wimbledon, Gauff began to work with Gilbert and Pere Riba to enhance her aggressive playing style, particularly on the forehand to make it more of a weapon. That\u2019s exactly what they did and Roddick was very pleased to see his former coach guide one of tennis\u2019 brightest talents to Grand Slam glory, especially in such a short timeframe.<\/p>\n \u201cI also couldn\u2019t be happier for my old coach Brad Gilbert,\u201d the tennis legend added. \u201cI\u2019m sure there were times where he questioned whether he was going to coach again, especially someone that had the potential to win a Grand Slam, but I\u2019m not at all surprised by the success that he\u2019s had with Coco.<\/p>\n “I think he\u2019d been running a lot of those parallels with me from 20 years ago, but the difference is that she\u2019s not going to stop at one. There are dominant forces in women\u2019s tennis, but I don\u2019t think three players are going to win 66 of the next however many Slams, so there\u2019s a much better runway for her.”<\/p>\n
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