It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the American on serve though. Coco Gauff has racked up a whopping 214 double faults in 42 matches this year, the highest on the WTA tour.
But Gauff has shown an improvement on her second serve in recent weeks, and it showed against Sevastova. The 17-year-old committed only three double faults on Tuesday.
When asked to elaborate on her second-serve problems during her press conference, Gauff admitted that her high double fault count was more mental than technical.
Coco Gauff then made a reference to countrywoman Simone Biles’ recent remarks about suffering from “twisties” - a condition that robs gymnasts of their sense of space and leads to risky landings.
Simone Biles was forced to pull out from a number of events at the recent Tokyo Olympics due to this problem. In her statement, Biles claimed she couldn’t differentiate between directions while doing her flips, before explaining why that is a dangerous situation to be in for any gymnast.
Coco Gauff drew a parallel between her problems with the second serve and Simone Biles’ issues with the twisties. The American teenager acknowledged that her case wasn’t physically dangerous like that of Biles, but pointed out how it could make things awkward while serving.
Coco Gauff went on to claim that she believes she has seen the back of her second-serve problems, courtesy of the hard yards she has put in.
“The reason why I practice on the fast court is because it makes the matches on other courts seem slower” - Coco Gauff
The courts at the 2021 National Bank Open are reportedly on the slower side this year, with quite a few players talking about the relatively low pace on offer.
Coco Gauff also claimed that the courts are on the slower side, but asserted that that doesn’t affect her too much. Gauff explained how practicing on fast courts has helped her improve her reflexes, giving her more time when she plays on slower surfaces.
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