Lindsay Davenport thinks she knows exactly what Coco Gauff will do after her defeat at the Canadian Open

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Coco Gauff suffered a surprise fourth round exit at the Canadian Open this year.

Gauff was beaten by Victoria Mboko, the Canadian teenager who has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the WTA rankings this year.

Knowing what it is like to rise up the WTA rankings from a young age, Gauff has dismissed any comparisons to Mboko.

Double faults were a big issue for Gauff throughout her time in Montreal, but they were actually much lower in her defeat to Mboko.

After Gauff exited the Canadian Open, her Billie Jean King Cup captain and former world number one Lindsay Davenport has given her verdict on what she will do next.

Lindsay Davenport explains what Coco Gauff will do after her Canadian Open exit

Since Gauff won Roland Garros in May, she has actually only won two of her five matches.

This includes a first round defeat for Gauff at Wimbledon, and Davenport has now given her verdict on the world number two’s current situation.

Davenport praised Gauff’s fighting spirit to come through some of her earlier matches in Montreal, but has now claimed that she needs to improve if she wants to reach the summit of the WTA rankings.

In her assessment of her Canadian Open defeat on the Tennis Channel Live podcast, Davenport believes that Gauff would have been straight back on the practice court ahead of the Cincinnati Open.

“It’s not a perfect situation for her to be unhooked,” said Davenport. “I mean, the pressure’s off. She’s won her second major, but when you’ve won majors and your goal is to be number one in the world and to be the best, this is not okay.

“Yeah, I mean, Gauff could tell herself, ‘Oh, well, don’t worry I just won Roland Garros’… That’s not how a champion’s mind works.

“No question she is like, ‘Okay, I got to get better for the U.S. Open. It’s got to start now’. I’d imagine she’s back on the practice court today or tomorrow working on things to try and get some momentum in Cincy.”

While it is unclear as to whether Gauff has been back practicing on the singles court, she is actually still in Montreal for the doubles event.

Alongside her compatriot, McCartney Kessler, Gauff has made it all the way to the semifinals of the Canadian Open.

Coco Gauff’s strange record at the Cincinnati Open

The Cincinnati Open is Gauff’s next singles tournament, and it is an event that she has a very mixed record at.

Gauff is a former champion in Cincinnati, winning the title at the WTA 1000 tournament in 2023.

That was the same year that Gauff went on to win the US Open, but her record in Cincinnati outside of that year leaves something to be desired.

Gauff has won six of her 10 matches at the Cincinnati Open, with just one of those wins coming outside of 2023.

The 21-year-old will be hoping she can re-find form and showcase the sort of tennis that helped her win the Cincinnati title in 2023.

Gauff and the rest of the WTA Tour will play at the Cincinnati Open, which gets underway on Thursday, August 7.