Coco Gauff made it to the 2024 China Open semi-final, but to get there, the American had to beat a very inspired player who outplayed her in the opening set.
Yulia Starodubtseva may have a mouthful of a surname, but her tennis isn't lacking either. She's been in decent form lately, getting ever closer to the Top 100, and in her quarter-final match at the WTA 1000 event, she played like a player who belongs there. In fact, she will break into the Top 100 after the event.
Gauff helped her greatly in getting there as she struggled immensely with her serve. She served horribly in the first set of that match. It's not an exaggeration to say it was shockingly bad, but she stabilized a little as time passed.
That was crucial in turning around the match, as well as her resilient mentality, which Gauff has shown for much of her career. She's always been a fighter and has won matches she shouldn't have.
Some would argue that this is what has allowed her to achieve the level of success she’s had so far. Her athleticism and resilience have been impressive, even when her tennis tends to falter.
After the match, she admitted that reminding herself to stick with it helped her turn the match around. Having the right mindset was crucial, as she battled back to a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.
"I was just trying to remember what we've been working on on the practice court. It's still a lot of things I'm adjusting to, so for me, it's about trusting the process and focusing on that. Today, I can't control how I play or how she plays, but I can just try to control my mindset and commit to the process."
Despite reaching the semi-final in Beijing, it was a very odd time for Gauff because she was coming off a terrible sequence in her native United States, where she was greatly disappointed with her play.
This resulted in her making some changes to her approach. She let go of her coach, Brad Gilbert, and hired a new one, Matt Daly, before this event. She also started working on her serve after struggling with it during the US Open.
The struggles in China might be attributed to her working on the serve, causing the mechanics to be off at times. There’s just a lot happening for the American, and it's all with the goal of becoming a better player.
Many analysts have called for this, and even she understood that it had to be done. She was trending in the wrong direction in recent weeks, and stopping that was crucial. She admitted before the China Open that her goals for the rest of the season are mostly to prepare for next year.
This is an early pre-season for her, as she called it, the only difference is that it features the best possible practice—live matches. The 20-year-old explained that she’s not necessarily chasing trophies as her goal but is trying her best to become the best player possible.
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