Washington, August 7th (written in larger font)
Coco Gauff is a normal teenager, even though she is good at tennis. She gets annoyed when her younger sibling and father FaceTime her while she is busy with interviews. There are two DC Open trophies in front of her on the table.
With a racket in her hand, Gauff is not like most people. She has been very successful. The 19-year-old from Florida did not do well at Wimbledon and was disappointed. However, she seems to be in great form again as the US Open is coming up later this month.
Gauff won the Washington final against Sakkari and got her fourth WTA Tour singles title. She played really well, winning 6-2 6-3. Gauff is the youngest female champion of a hard-court tournament in the nation’s capital. She is also the first teenager to win four WTA tournaments since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.
1, “I would say,” Gauff stated. The person was ranked as No. 3, “I’m going the right way. ” Well, that’s an obvious statement.
“Gauff’s new coach, Pere Riba, and consultant Brad Gilbert in Washington, believe she is already close to being the best, but they think there is still plenty of room for improvement. ”
“I’m glad that she won the tournament. ” I am really pleased with the way she did it. Her enthusiasm and mindset matter more in the long run.
It was such an eventful week.
Gauff, who came in second place at the 2022 French Open, didn’t lose a set and only gave up 19 total games in four matches.
During the night, a man named Dan Evans became the oldest champion in Washington since Jimmy Connors in 1988. He won by defeating Tallon Griekspoor in a match that was delayed for more than two hours due to a thunderstorm.
In simple words: Evans won his second ATP Tour title at the DC Open. Before this, he had a record of 8 wins and 18 losses in 2023. Now, he will move up in the rankings from his current position. Please rephrase this sentence in simpler words: Reaching a career-high position of number 30. On Monday, it was ranked number 21.
“I had to remind myself that I was taking it one match at a time, and not too long ago, I wasn’t playing well,” he explained.
“It was mentally challenging to focus on the present moment and keep trying hard for every point. ” And I did really well at that this week.
This was the first time the tournament included both ATP and WTA players and had a rating of 500. Even though they were given the same importance, the amount of money they won was not equal and will not be equal until 2027. Gauff got $120,150 and Evans got $353,445.
The text is about an item. 9th-ranked Sakkari and Gauff knocked out defending champion Liudmila Samsonova and Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic.
Gauff said that the players she beat this week were really good, maybe the best she’s faced in all the tournaments she’s played. She also mentioned that she hit seven aces on Sunday and won four out of five singles finals.
She won another title in 2023, which was her second one of the year. She had also won one in Auckland, New Zealand, in January.
One thing that made a difference this time was that they improved their forehand, which was previously seen as a weakness. Pere worked on changing the way she moved her feet to make sure she was in a good position to hit the shot and use it to attack.
We all know that her forehand was always the shot she struggled with. I think she is getting better at that now. She is creating more balls. “Sakkari, a 28-year-old tennis player from Greece who made it to the semifinals of two Grand Slam tournaments in 2021, mentioned that she is currently focusing on that task. ”
She seems much more grown-up in her mind. She is skilled in playing on the court. Sakkari, who won against top-ranked Jessica Pegula on Saturday, now has a record of only winning 1 out of 7 finals.
“I have to be honest,” Sakkari said, wiping her tears.
“It’s quite disheartening. ”
Sakkari won a point in the second set when Gauff made a mistake with her drop shot and hit the ball into the net. Gauff was very upset and she put her hands on her head. She then walked to the side and hit her equipment bag with her racket. It quickly became 2-0.
But Sakkari made a mistake by double-faulting and lost her serve to tie the game at 3-3. She also kept making errors with her groundstrokes, often looking at her coach, Tom Hill, afterwards.
Gauff saw it. She thought it was because she prevented Sakkari from attacking her forehand.
“This week, I have consistently proven the scouting report wrong, and I believe that’s why the players become a bit more annoyed,” Gauff explained.
Almost the whole week, every player I competed against has been focused on their own strategy, but I believe I was able to counter their plan. Today, she had a plan, and I sort of made that plan not work as well.
A short time passed, and then her phone made a buzzing sound. It was a short form for “Brother” AP.