"She'll Hold Trophy Up In Two Weeks”: Gauff Backed To Win US Open By Annacone
WTA
Coco Gauff is capable of winning the 2023 US Open title, according to Roger Federer's former coach, Paul Annacone.
Gauff got her US Open campaign off to a winning start with a three sets victory against German qualifier Laura Siegemund on Monday. Although, the 19-year-old had to dig deep to come back from a set down to edge her opponent to set up a second-round tie against fellow teenager Mirra Andreeva.
The first-round win extended Gauff's strong summer form after she won the Citi Open and the Cincinnati Masters ahead of the US Open. However, when speaking to the Tennis Channel, Annacone believes Gauff is starting to manage expectations and produce consistency after she burst onto the WTA tour at the age of 15.
"I think one of the hardest things for a superstar that's that young is to manage kind of plateauing and as great as she [Coco Gauff] is, she's plateaued a little bit and so many people expected so much so quickly from her. I never thought she was playing badly. I never thought she flattened out. I thought it was part of the progression,”
Now Gauff has hit top form at the US Open, Annacone is backing the 19-year-old to go on and win the final Grand Slam of the season. The former ATP player feels that Gauff has the quality to win the competition, but managing her mentality and retaining focus will be the key.
"For Coco Gauff, for me it's never been a matter of ‘if’, it's just ‘when’. And I think ‘when’ is now. She's shown us this summer that she's so capable to do things at the highest level and so competent and confident,”
"I think for Coco, if she can relieve the pressure valve on herself, not what we're saying, just on herself, then she'll hold the trophy up in two weeks,”
