Coco Gauff has made a recent realisation about herself that she has admitted after the Miami Open final.
Gauff made unwanted career history after losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Miami Open, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
There was a very loud atmosphere during this final, with Gauff reacting to the Miami Open crowd after Sabalenka was left frustrated by one fan in particular.
Gauff also spoke about a mistake she had previously been making, which she is now trying to correct.
Coco Gauff explains that she is trying to be less results-focused
Gauff retired from her last match prior to the Miami Open due to an arm injury, and there were doubts over whether she would even play the tournament.
After making it all the way to the final, Gauff explained that she was not even thinking about reaching the championship match, which is partly why she believes she was able to do so.
Gauff admitted that she can sometimes be too results-focused, but she has now realised that this is not a healthy mindset.
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“Yeah, I think for me it’s just focusing on the process and the journey more than the result,” Gauff said in her post-match press conference. “I think I can be a very results-based person at times, and revolve my life around if it’s going good or not based on my tennis. I don’t think that’s healthy, just because there are going to be good times and bad times like you said.
“I don’t know, I think this week I just started off with like minimum goals, which was just to win the second set of that first match. I think when you focus on the little goals along the way, obviously you have the grand goal, then things become a lot easier.
“I feel like a lot of times in the past, especially when I’ve played tournaments, I’ve never played well here, but when I’ve played tournaments where I’ve been defending or things like that, in the first round I’m thinking about the final and this week I wasn’t doing that, so I think it’s something I can take on into [future] tournaments.
“And all the tournaments I’ve done well I’ve had that mindset, I think now I’m actually just aware of the mindset shift that happens when I’m mentally not necessarily there vs when I’m there.”
Gauff will really need to put this to the test in the coming months, as she looks ahead to her title defence at the French Open.
Coco Gauff suggests reason why Aryna Sabalenka was able to beat her in Miami Open final
Gauff and Sabalenka have had some very close encounters over the years, and the final of the Miami Open was no different.
The serve is always a big talking point of Gauff’s, with the American hitting seven double faults against Sabalenka.
Gauff has actually suggested that the serve was not the deciding factor, and instead Sabalenka’s full trust in her own game.
“Honestly, it wasn’t super intentional to go big on the second serve, there has actually been talks of going slower on the second serve,” explained Gauff. “But for me, in tight moments I feel like it’s better to accelerate and I think the double faults that I did have the really bad ones were in the net where I didn’t accelerate, so that’s one thing.
“I mean, Aryna she trusts her game 100% and trusts herself, and when you feel like that it’s so easy to play. I’ve had moments in my career where I’ve felt very similar, where you just feel like no matter what happens today you’re going to win.
“I mean I felt like that going into today, but it didn’t happen when you’re playing someone who has had that feeling the whole year, versus me who’s just trying to find that feeling this week. So, I think the more weeks I have like this one, even despite the result, the more weeks I have like this those results will come my way.”
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Gauff will still be rewarded for her run to the final, as she now overtakes Iga Swiatek to return to world number three in the WTA rankings.
Both players will now have a few weeks off, before both Gauff and Sabalenka return to competition for the WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart.
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