Online Reporter
AN emotional Coco Gauff said she will need to “make changes” to be successful at Wimbledon after she was knocked out in the first round on a day of shocks at the All England Club on Tuesday.
The American second seed was beaten 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 by Ukraine world number 42 Dayana Yastremska on a packed Court One under the roof.
Gauff, 21, was a contender for the title at SW19 following her triumph at Roland Garros less than a month ago.
But a performance strewn with double faults and unforced errors handed Yastremska a rare opportunity against the world number two and she grasped it with both hands to reach the second round. Gauff teared up as she expressed “disappointment” at the loss and said she would do things differently in the build-up to the grass-court swing next time, particularly after a deep run at the French Open.
“I think it’s just changing my playing style a little bit, which is difficult,” she said.
“I have faith that if I can make these adjustments, I can do well here. I really do want to do well here.
“I’m not someone who wants to write myself off grass this early in my career, but I definitely need to make changes if I want to be successful here.”
The shock result follows first-round exits for fellow top-five seeds Jessica Pegula and Zheng Qinwen on day two at the Championships.
American third seed Pegula lost 6-2, 6-3 to Italy’s world number 116 Elisabetta Cocciaretto while Olympic champion Zheng went down 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to Katerina Siniakova.
Just three and a half weeks ago Gauff was on top of the world, having lifted the trophy at Roland Garros after beating world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
But a lacklustre performance laden with mistakes on her unfavoured surface saw the two-time major winner head out early against the unseeded Yastremska, leading her to question her build-up to the grass-court major.
“I just feel like the surface, I maybe could have used more matches,” she said.
“If you go deep in Roland Garros, you’re debating: ‘do I rush and play that week, or do I take time and play the week before?’ It’s a tricky thing.
“It’s like finding the puzzle. I don’t like to play the week before. It’s a quick turnaround, so I think just trying to learn whether it’s better to train more and maybe play Bad Homburg or Eastbourne. — BBC Sport.
