Coco Gauff has shed light on her startling performance at the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, where she committed a staggering 74 unforced errors and 21 double faults in her opening match against Moyuka Uchijima. Gauff, America’s top-ranked female tennis player, cited her intention to dominate the match and an ongoing effort to amend her serve as the reasons behind her unusually high error count.
Gauff’s performance in Indian Wells was far from her usual standard, particularly when juxtaposed to her back-to-back opening match defeats in Doha and Dubai last month. However, unlike her Middle Eastern matches, Gauff managed to claw her way to victory in Indian Wells, narrowly defeating Uchijima 6-4 3-6 7-6 (4).
The match’s third set saw Gauff take an early 4-0 lead, seemingly on track for a straightforward victory. However, the tide abruptly turned as Gauff began to make a series of unforced errors and double faults, even on critical match and break points. Despite these setbacks, the 20-year-old managed to avoid what could have been a crushing loss, although it took an exhausting five match points before she could finally claim victory.
Speaking about her 21 double faults and 74 unforced errors, Gauff said, “The unforced errors, I had to go bigger towards the end of the match, and even in the middle, because I felt like she would dictate…Then doubles, I’ve been in the practice of trying to fix things on my serve.”
She further expounded on the match’s erratic nature, saying, “It was just an up-and-down process. It’s tough out there. But, I mean, if I’m able to win matches playing kind of like D tennis, then it gives me confidence just when I’m able to mesh things together like I did earlier this season.”
Looking forward, Gauff is due to play against Maria Sakkari in the third round. Sakkari, a two-time runner-up at Indian Wells, is known for her strong performance on the desert courts. In light of this, Gauff made it clear that she will need to significantly reduce her error count if she hopes to emerge victorious in her upcoming match.
