Coco Gauff is a formidable opponent for anyone, but she is yet to be beaten as the No. 1 seed at a tournament.
The 19-year-old began her 2024 season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. The draw for the tournament was very strong, including the returning Emma Raducanu, but Gauff was the No. 1 seed at the event.
Gauff met the No. 2 seed Elina Svitolina in the final in Auckland. It was a tight battle, but Gauff recovered to defeat Svitolina from a set down. The final score of an exciting final for the fans was 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3.
Last year's US Open champion was the favourite to win in Auckland before the tournament started. However, some players find such pressure difficult to manage, and Gauff did well to handle this, especially after losing the first set of the final.
Yet, this is not the first time that Gauff has had to manage the expectations of being the No. 1 seed at an event, and trying to play her best tennis under those conditions.
This happened on one other occasion. Gauff was also the No. 1 seed in Auckland last year. The teenager was not as highly ranked then as the No. 3 currently is, but she was the top seed nonetheless.
But that did not stop Gauff. In fact, she won the Auckland title even more comfortably last year, including sweeping aside Rebeka Masarova in the final for the loss of just two games.
It is clear that Gauff, who emulated another Serena Williams achievement, can handle the pressure of being the top player at an event. That attitude is likely to serve her very well in the future.
Can she handle the extra expectations at Grand Slams this year after that stunning US Open triumph? It remains to be seen.
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