Coco Gauff was looking unstoppable, but she was stopped in Montreal by doubles partner Jessica Pegula in a tight 3-setter.
This was a very interesting matchup between two players that know each other well. They practice together, they play doubles together and there is very little secrecy between them. Even so, the start of the quarterfinal match at the 2023 Canadian Open looked as if Pegula knew everything about Gauff, but the younger American didn't know much about her opponent.
The youngster had no solution for Pegula, losing her serve quickly in the opening game and it all spiraled from there. She found a rhythm towards the end of the set, but losing it 2-6 certainly didn't mean that she didn't do a lot of great things in it.
Gauff made an effort to play more attacking tennis recently and with the inclusion of Brad Gilbert, it looked really great in Washington where she won the trophy. It was going well in Montreal too, until today that is. She was missing far more than before, and it was a huge problem.
Pegula didn't even have to do much in order to win the set as Gauff was doing much of the work for her. In some ways, Guaff opting for a less attacking play might have worked better against Pegula who is an excellent hitter but can miss a lot as well, especially if you frustrate her with long rallies.
Despite it not working well, Gauff continued playing that way, and she had some minor chances in the second set but never quite found what she needed to convert them. Pegula was pretty solid for the most part, with very little inconsistency in her level, both on serve and return.
She did drop her serve at 3-4, giving Gauff a chance but broke back immediately with the forehand letting Gauff down once more. She still won the set, giving us a chance to enjoy this pretty good match for a bit more. The final set was quite good, very competitive with Pegula taking an early lead.
At 4-3, Gauff got a chance to break back and she did when Pegula hit a backhand into the net. That game was a very crucial one because it swung the momentum completely in Gauff's favour. Even so, it was the more experience Pegula who held her nerve to finish off the match. The final score was 6-2, 5-7, 7-5.
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