Coco Gauff is cruising through her 2024 ASB Classic Auckland title defense, and her next stop is Varvara Gracheva, who can be a tricky opponent.
Coco Gauff most probably won't be scared of Varvara Gracheva, but the French player has demonstrated an ability to surprise before. As great as the teenage American is, her streakiness is still present, and weird things happen in tennis all the time.
So far, Gauff has been quite good. She dropped only three games against Brenda Fruhvirtova, which was very impressive. She bested Claire Liu in the match before that, and allowed her six games, which is also pretty strong.
Gracheva will be the biggest test so far because she also bested some solid players. But can she beat the 2023 US Open champion is the real question?
Head-to-head:
We've never seen this matchup play out on the court before, which is unfortunate, but there are some assumptions we can make based on how they like to play tennis.
Gauff has shifted to an attacking style of tennis, and it worked out great. It doesn't come naturally to her yet, but with time, she'll grow confident and become even better at it.
Gracheva has similar instincts, but she's also very streaky with them. At times, she hits the corners well, but quite often, she struggles to put the ball into the court.
Prediction:
That said, it's pretty hard to imagine that she can do anything to hurt her opponent here. Gauff is just uniquely equipped to win this match. It could be a close match if Gracheva shows up with her best, putting some doubt into Gauf.
The American can assert her own power in the matchup, and even if she doesn't, her athleticism is good enough to outlast any streaky hitting by Gracheva. It worked against Aryna Sabalenka, so why not against Gracheva too?
Prediction: Coco Gauff to win in two sets.
0 Comments