US OPEN

September 1, 2024

Coco Gauff

Press Conference

E. NAVARRO/C. Gauff

6-3, 4-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Coco, if you could, your thoughts on today's match.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I fought really hard today. Overall I think I played well for the most part. I just didn't take care of my serve, so that was the biggest difference. Too many free points on my serve. So, yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I'm curious particularly with the double faults, was there something mechanical that you felt was consistently giving you trouble?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I mean, obviously I go down on my left side a lot on my serve, and it's something I'm aware of, but it's tough in the moment to I guess try not to do it, so yeah.

Q. You've just described a mechanical thing. What was going through your mind as your serve was deserting you?

COCO GAUFF: Get the serve in. Yeah, I mean, I was just trying to commit to it and just stay calm, so yeah.

Q. Coco, in previous press conferences you talked about not wanting to have regrets at this tournament. I'm curious with the fight back and everything, all the effort that you put in today, did you feel like you accomplished that goal for yourself, or do you feel like you fell short?

COCO GAUFF: I mean, mentally I gave it and emotionally I gave it my all. Of course, there were things execution-wise, where I was like, obviously I wish I could serve better. I think if I would have did that, it would have been a different story for me in the match.

But Emma played really well. She did, I mean, everything well I thought. She was really aggressive on my second serve, so putting more pressure on my serve and being solid from the baseline. I mean, I expected that going in.

So emotionally I have no regrets, but obviously I wish I could execute things better.

Q. Obviously on your run here last year, a lot of the time you didn't find your top level, but you fought through and kind of developed a reputation for that. How different did today feel to the matches you played here last year?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I mean, I felt like I was -- I mean, from the ground I felt like I was hitting better with each match honestly. Yeah, I thought I was hitting both sides decently well.

I didn't return as well maybe in the first set and then even in the second, but I was able to find it. So, yeah, obviously I didn't play, like, the best throughout the match, but there was moments where I was playing good tennis.

So I think for me it's just trying to find that more consistently.

Q. Can you sort of compare or think about the first sort of half of this year and the really good results generally that you had in Australia and then Paris and some other places and then to this summer. Did you sense something was going on, or just sort of these things happen and things come, or has there been some sort of change? How has that been? What has it been like to experience going through it?

COCO GAUFF: I guess for me, yeah, it's not the summer that I want. I feel like there's, like, 70 other players in the draw that would love to have the summer that I had even though it's my least probably done well during this time of the year.

So many people want to be in the fourth round. So many people want to make the Olympics. So many people want to be flag bearer. It's perspective.

Obviously because I'm wanting to reach a different level, it is disappointing, but I'm not going to beat myself up and be, like, this was so bad.

Yeah, I expect better, but at the end of the day it happened, and I know I can turn it around.

Q. I didn't mean to suggest that it was so bad.

COCO GAUFF: No, your question was fine.

Q. Given your own standards.

COCO GAUFF: No, no, I understood what you meant. No, I know this wasn't a great couple of months. So, no, I didn't take any offense to it. I'm just saying, like, trying to be perspective from other people.

Q. There's still more to come in this year. I know you just walked off the court, but I'm wondering, given that this period you really wanted to do well, you had high standards for yourself, is there a bit of relief now going into what's coming and that there's nothing hanging over your head except, like, just moving forward, you have finals to look at and things like that?

COCO GAUFF: Yes and no. I don't know what my schedule will look like at the end of this year. I feel like I want to spend a good training block. I hadn't had that since maybe before the clay season started.

Yeah, I think we'll see how Asia goes, and we'll see -- obviously if I qualify, I'll play. I think for me in the long-term I definitely want to get a good training block, and I guess we'll see how many tournaments I play for the rest of the year.

Q. Could you describe what Emma did that troubled you, maybe even each of these last two times you've played her. Was there anything different today? Also, you got to know her -- you probably knew her already -- but I imagine in Paris there was some extra time there as teammates and just maybe if you could describe her as a person off the court.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah. No, she played me similar to how she played me at Wimbledon. The difference in Wimbledon and today, I think I was just mentally better, so that's why I got to the third set.

I think in the future I have to take care of my serve. She's a great returner. I think she does a great job with just redirecting. She's kind of an all-court player. She can do everything.

So I don't think she changed how she played me from Wimbledon to now. So, yeah, I think for me it was just all on my end of the court. Obviously she's a great player.

As a person she's a super nice girl. I've gotten to know her over the Olympics, and she's super funny. She's kind of the opposite of how she is on court. She has a lot of personality, but she doesn't show it as much to you guys.

But, yeah, she's super nice. I always root for her. It was a battle today, but you know, if you had to lose, I would rather lose to a good person off the court, you know?

Q. Other players have talked about the fatigue they felt after this summer particularly with the Olympics and their energy levels maybe not being quite where they normally would this time of year. Is that something you felt coming to New York?

COCO GAUFF: No, I think -- I don't know. It's a tough question because I feel like I felt ready, and I felt like physically and mentally ready, but for sure I think in Toronto and Cincy it was a little bit mentally draining, those tournaments having to switch surfaces.

It's tough when you're trying to find your game. You're just used to maybe a certain type of year.

But coming into this, I didn't feel any exhaustion. I was actually really excited to play. Yeah, I didn't feel any type of things. I was just ready to go on court. Even today I felt ready to go on court. I was excited.

But that's something you have to deal with every four years, so it's not that big of a deal. Every Olympics I can qualify for and I'm healthy, I'm definitely going to play. So I don't blame it on that.

Q. Aryna Sabalenka, when she was struggling with her serve, hired a mechanics coach to help her deal with it and restructure her serve. Is that something you would consider?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah. I mean, for sure. Yeah, I definitely want to get other opinions because, you know -- and also I think it's sometimes more of an emotional, mental thing because if I go out on the practice court right now, I would make, like, 30 serves in a row. I've done it before.

I think it's also just kind of a mental hurdle that I have to get over when it comes with that. But, yeah, I definitely want to look at other things because I don't want to lose matches like this anymore.