Perhaps the biggest surprise of Wimbledon so far came on Tuesday evening when Coco Gauff was dumped out in round one.
It’s not the first time the American has lost at this stage on the grass at SW19, but this one will definitely be the toughest to comprehend.
Gauff won the French Open last month with a stunning comeback win over Aryna Sabalenka and came into Wimbledon with confidence seemingly sky high.
Now, it’s a quick return to the United States for the 21-year-old who will have to lick her wounds and recover properly for the US Open next month.
Dayana Yastremska was inspired against Gauff and won 7-6, 6-1 against the world number two.
Andy Roddick makes claim about Coco Gauff after Wimbledon exit
It’s going to sting Gauff for some time losing in round one of a tournament that she’s been desperate to conquer.
It’s weird that Wimbledon has been a bit of a vice for Gauff, given it was in England where the American burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old who sent Venus Williams packing.
Roddick has discussed Gauff losing and given that she won the French Open, he thinks this defeat might be easier to bounce back from.
He said on the Served podcast: “Coco Gauff loses to Yastremska. We told you that it was going to be a tough one. It’s just game styles.
“She is great at what she does, and what she does, the most challenging surface is going to be grass, especially against a big hitter like Yastremska.
“She needed a comfortable match-up in the first couple of rounds to get her feet under her and get the feel for grass.
“But do you know what I’ll tell you? I know she is going to say this is the worst thing ever and super upsetting, and she probably feels that way.
“But if you tell her a month ago that you win Roland Garros and I don’t know what happens for the rest of the year, you might lose the first round of every tournament. Guess what she does? She signs that contract.
“So there is no criticism for Coco Gauff right now. She just won her second slam. One of the best players in the world. It’s just grass is going to be her toughest surface, which is strange because that is where we got to know her when she beat Venus at 15 years old.
“Maybe she figures it out at some point, but just simply her game style is least beneficial on grass, and the way people can affect her in a negative way, stylistically, with hard pace through the forehand, is easier on grass.
“Props to Yastremska, she was playing great going in, had been playing great on grass.”
Gauff can eventually enjoy Wimbledon run
Perhaps the challenge for Gauff is to play more tournaments on the grass in the build-up to Wimbledon in future years.
This year, it was always going to be hard to do that, given that she won the French Open and naturally needed time to recover from that.
Gauff played just one match on grass coming into this event, losing to Wang Xinyu in straight sets at the Grass Court Championships in Berlin.
Playing Yastremska in round one was always going to be hard, given that she’s previously gone to round four at Wimbledon and has been in the top 21 of the world rankings.
Roddick is right when he suggests that Gauff would probably have taken winning at Roland Garros if it meant losing in the first match here, but it will hurt nonetheless.
Gauff has to work out a solution to her Wimbledon problems, but at 21 she has time on her side and a player with so much talent won’t continue to struggle at SW19.
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