Coco Gauff has been forced to settle for the runner-up trophy in back-to-back tournaments after losing to Jasmine Paolini at the Italian Open.
Gauff was beaten by Paolini in straight sets, following on from her defeat to Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Madrid Open.
There were noticeable issues within her game, as former world number one Jim Courier expressed his concerns about Gauff after watching her performance in the Rome final.
However, not everyone sees it the same way as Courier, with Gauff being requested to take some perspective heading into Roland Garros.
Coco Gauff agrees with something Daniil Medvedev recently said
When reflecting on her past two final defeats, Gauff spoke to the Tennis One App about how she was feeling in the immediate aftermath.
Despite her obvious disappointment, Gauff revealed that she was actually taking some inspiration from something that former world number one Daniil Medvedev recently said.
Medvedev is a former Italian Open champion and recently explained how having perspective after losing in a final is important.
This is something that Gauff is hoping to take on board, as she eyes a second major title at Roland Garros.
“Two results I’m obviously pretty disappointed in, but overall I have a lot of confidence going into Roland Garros and hopefully I can get to the final there and win it,” said Gauff. “I think I saw Daniil say it’s better to lose in finals than first round, so I can agree with that.”
Gauff has reached two singles finals this year in Madrid and Rome, with her last individual title coming at the WTA Finals back in November.
Coco Gauff reacts to matching her career-high ranking after reaching the Italian Open final
Although she was unable to lift the trophy in the Italian capital, Gauff has been rewarded in terms of her ranking.
Following the conclusion of the Italian Open, Gauff will match her previous career-high of world number two.
Despite the positive implications this could have for Gauff, this does not seem to be holding too much space in her mind heading into Roland Garros.
“It helps when you are seeded higher but at these Grand Slams it helps for the first couple of rounds but when you are in the quarters, or even fourth round, it’s kind of pointless because you are playing great players and if you want to win that big trophy you have to beat incredible players,” explained Gauff.
“It helps you out so you don’t have to play someone high ranked in the first round, but the depth on the tour now, there are people who will be unseeded who are dangerous players so I don’t really pay any attention to it.”
Gauff is a former Roland Garros junior champion and reached the senior final in 2022, with the 21-year-old looking to go one better when the second major of the year gets underway on Sunday May 25.
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