Coco Gauff started badly in her quarter-final match at the 2024 China Open, but she worked her way back to win in three sets and secure a spot in the semi-final.
Gauff hasn’t had the best time on the tennis courts lately, but she arrived in Beijing hoping to finish the season on a high note. She described the remainder of the 2024 season as more of an early pre-season, meaning she will use this time to work on her game and improve as a player.
She needs it because lately, her tennis has been all over the place and certainly nowhere near where she hopes for it to be. She got a nice draw at the China Open, meeting an interesting player, Yulia Starodubtseva, in the quarter-final of the WTA 1000 event.
While the Ukrainian is a solid player with a bright future, it was a matchup that Gauff should win simply because she is the better player at the moment than the World No. 115.
She might not have had the best results lately, but overall, she’s still one of the better players in the world and, as such, expected to win these matches. She didn’t do well initially in this matchup because Starodubtseva smashed her in the opening set 6-2.
It largely came down to the American player's inability to handle herself against the in-form Ukrainian. What made things tough for Gauff was her serve. It was horrible by any possible metric because she hit her first serve less than 50% of the time in the opening set while also struggling to hit the second serve as well.
She finished the set with eight double faults, and she served only four times. That means she averaged two double faults per service game, which is a horrible stat. She had similar issues against Emma Navarro at the US Open, which is why she’s been working on her serve lately.
This poor serving performance might have something to do with the team tinkering with her serve. Even so, it’s no excuse, as that level couldn't bring her any success, and it cost her the opening set.
Her issues went beyond just poor serving, but it allowed her opponent to attack her second serve, which was weak, as Starodubtseva won the majority of points after Gauff missed her first, and she missed it 51% of the time she tried.
Gauff played the second set much better as she served better. She limited the number of double faults and actually hit two aces as well. It made all the difference, even though Starodubtseva missed some chances as well.
She had four break chances but didn’t convert any of them. Gauff used her chances, as she played with much more urgency and confidence, and won the set 6-2. After the set, the Ukrainian player went to the bathroom while Gauff remained on the court, practicing her serve in between the sets, something seen very rarely.
At the start of the final set, the 2023 US Open winner completely turned around the match. She broke early, taking a 3-0 lead. Her serve was working much better, and she had no problems cruising to a win in three sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. She will play against Paula Badosa in the 2024 China Open semi-final.
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