Coco Gauff made a winning start to her French Open campaign after beating Olivia Gadecki in the first round.
Gauff dealt with the windy conditions during her first round match against the Australian, continuing her impressive clay court season.
After reaching back-to-back finals in Madrid and Rome, Gauff is one of the French Open favourites alongside the likes of Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.
However, Venus Williams believes Gauff needs to improve something if she is to be able to win the title in Paris.
Coco Gauff discloses how she felt before her first round French Open match
Gauff beat Gadecki, 6-2 6-2, despite forgetting her rackets when she first stepped onto Court Philippe-Chatrier.
When speaking in her post-match press conference about her straight sets win, Gauff admitted that she felt less nervous than she usually does in the first round of a Grand Slam.
The American did suggest that maybe the funny incident where she forgot her rackets may have taken a little bit of the pressure off.
“Usually I am very nervous and I was a little bit today but I think it was the least nervous I have been heading into the first round of a Grand Slam, then the whole racket situation just took a load off too,” said Gauff.
|I think I wasn’t nervous today. I knew the conditions were going to be difficult so it was one of those matches that I went into knowing that it wasn’t going to be pretty tennis all the time.
“I think with that mindset going in it makes you feel better when you aren’t winning the points the way you want to.”
Coco Gauff explains why she is usually the most nervous in first round matches at Grand Slams
When continuing to speak about nerves at major tournaments, Gauff revealed that first round matches are where she feels the most nervous.
“I think nobody wants to lose first round. But it happens,” said Gauff. “Half the draw loses first round so when you put it in that perspective you realise it’s really not that bad to be honest.
“So I think as the rounds go it is just with every tournament you feel more comfortable out there on the court, you have a match under your belt and know how to deal with certain situations. I mean, I think the first round is the most nervous I get and after that I feel like it’s a little bit more smooth sailing.”
Despite confessing to having nerves in early stages of major tournaments, Gauff has only ever lost three times in the first round of a Grand Slam.
The most recent of those first round losses came at Wimbledon in 2023, where she lost to Sofia Kenin, before going on to win her next major tournament at the US Open.
Gauff will hope that nerves are not a big factor again in her second round match in Paris, where she will play 2024 French Open girls champion Tereza Valentova.
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