Coco Gauff 'Transformed Her Game' And 'Among Favorites' For Australian Open
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Coco Gauff received extensive praise from former WTA player Laura Robson, who thinks the American could win the Australian Open after how she played against Iga Swiatek at the United Cup.
Gauff has made a statement to her rivals with superb performances in the last few months. The struggles she endured during the 2024 season seem like a distant memory because of how well she has played recently.
A catalyst was hiring Matt Daly, who worked with Denis Shapovalov, as her coach. He replaced Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick's former coach, Brad Gilbert, who seemed unsure how to help Gauff.
The 20-year-old won the China Open in her first tournament with Daly. She battled through to the final without playing perfectly before producing an outstanding performance against Karolina Muchova in the final.
Gauff followed that with an even more significant success at the WTA Finals. The former world No. 2 beat Iga Swiatek for just the second time in 13 meetings and won an epic final in a deciding set tiebreak against Qinwen Zheng at the season-ending tournament.
After working hard during the off-season, Gauff built on her momentum at the United Cup. She helped Team USA reach the final without dropping a set in her singles and doubles matches at the event in Perth and Sydney.
Gauff defeated Swiatek for a second consecutive time in the final. That could give the 2023 US Open champion a significant boost for the rest of the season after she used to struggle so much against the four-time French Open winner.
Robson spoke on Eurosport about how Gauff has changed her game. She pointed to the victory against Swiatek at the United Cup as an example of her transformation and thought that the American's forehand was particularly improved.
"She already looks incredibly confident. The match against Swiatek, she was going into it losing the head-to-head 11-2 and there’s been times where you thought that’s just a terrible matchup for her and she’s got absolutely no chance, but she’s transformed her game over the last few months."
"With the forehand, it’s not breaking down like it used to and it doesn’t feel like a weakness anymore, and she’s so hard to pass because her movement is the best in a game. I would say that Coco’s all of a sudden, from where she was in the summer at the US Open, a completely different player and now among the favourites for a Slam title again."
Robson is not the only public figure impressed by Gauff's progress. Serena Williams' former coach, Rennae Stubbs, chose the world No. 3 over Aryna Sabalenka as this year's Australian Open champion.
Gauff also received a ringing endorsement from the Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley. Like Stubbs, he predicted the WTA Finals champion would win the tournament in Melbourne after her improvements in recent months.
While Gauff undoubtedly has a chance of securing a maiden Australian Open title, it is important to note how difficult it will be to topple Aryna Sabalenka, the 2023 and 2024 champion at the season's opening Grand Slam.
