ROLAND GARROS

May 27, 2024

Coco Gauff

Press Conference

C. GAUFF/J. Avdeeva

6-1, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Very solid match today and a solid performance against quite an unknown opponent. Just talk us through your thoughts on the match.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I never played her. She had a good run in the qualifying. I think I just came out playing well, and I would say I do think she was a little bit nervous with the bigger court, but I played well too.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. 6-1, 6-1; 53 minutes. Can you play much better than that?

COCO GAUFF: Probably not (smiling). Yeah, I don't think so. Especially for, like, first round of a Grand Slam. So, yeah, today was kind of a straightforward match. I didn't have to do much. I wouldn't say I, like, played amazing. I just had to play solid today. That's what I did.

Q. You have been talking about your serve in past weeks. You'll be happy to know you won 23 of 24 first-serve points.

COCO GAUFF: Oh, cool.

Q. That's almost as good as you can do.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah.

Q. What are some of the specific adjustments that you have made?

COCO GAUFF: For me, I tend to go down on my left side on my serve, which causes a lot of double faults. So I think just trying to keep that left side up and just adjusting how I toss the ball, those are the two main things.

You know, I think my serve is always, you know, decent and could be a weapon when it's on, but it's about making it more consistent. I think match by match it's getting better, and I'm pretty confident now with it.

Q. Have you brought the toss down a hair? Seems like it.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, a little bit, yes.

Q. How does that help you be more consistent?

COCO GAUFF: I think when your toss is higher it's more -- it depends on the player. Some people have a high toss and do perfectly fine. I think for me, when your toss is higher, you just have more room for error. Also, I kind of changed the way I toss, so naturally it brought it down. It wasn't like me trying to purposely toss lower. I think it was just like an adjustment I made and it naturally happened.

Q. When you've got such a commanding lead and look so in control, is it tempting to try some variety on the serve, or you're just really focused on that consistency right now?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, it is tempting, especially when you're in the lead. I did try a serve-and-volley, but she didn't make the return so I didn't get to volley it back.

Yeah, when you're in the lead, you do go bigger. The last game when I was serving I tried to go bigger than I was the whole match. But yeah, for the most part, you should stay with what you were doing to get the lead. It is tempting sometimes.

Q. What do you know about your next opponent?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I have never played her before. I know she made the semis here a couple years ago.

I've actually seen her play a couple times but I haven't seen her play this tournament yet. I'll have to probably do that. But she's definitely a fighter. I think she has, you know, good ball tolerance, like, she can make a lot of balls in the court, pretty good mover. So it's going to be a tough match, especially on clay, which I think is her preferred surface, I'm not sure.

But, yeah, I haven't seen her play this tournament yet.