Gauff

I have no doubt she's going to be very, very good in a few years time. But at 15, there are weaknesses. Players who can consistently serve big like Pliskova, Kvitova and Serena will cause her problems. Let's see how she gets on with Hercog tomorrow who serves well on grass but isn't exceptional and will be a good gauge of how well Gauff will do over the next 10 days

I think she is very good now. It is a great help that she doesn't have the mental baggage of the rest of the tour. I didn't see any obvious weaknesses only pluses that may/should get even better. As yet she might not be that proficient at the net but that skill is no longer such an integral part of the game. Big servers should cause anyone problems but I think her overall game could easily cause them more problems. The three players mentioned are also all capable of a massive number of unforced errors. Gauff hardly gave Rybarikova a cheap point.

Maybe a number of back to back games at this level might eventually take its toll but on the other hand a string of victories could add to her confidence level which already seems very high. She is definitely not scared of winning.

If she repeats the level against Rybarikova then she should take Hercog in 2 and then the semi-finals would then look even more of a possibility. That could mean a match up with Pliskova although she has an interesting match today.

I am not one of them but anyone who has taken a flyer on a big price pre-tournament has reasons to be pretty excited.

I well remember Venus Williams's debut at Wimbledon and although she was equally touted as Gauff beforehand, she mixed great shots with wild hits into the crowd that day. Gauff seems to be immune from those youthful errors so far. I can't agree with Federer and others that they should change the age rules for her though. Rules changed for one athlete/player are never a good idea. Look at the farce over Semenya.

Jul 5, 2019 -- 10:39AM, differentdrum wrote:

I think she is very good now. It is a great help that she doesn't have the mental baggage of the rest of the tour. I didn't see any obvious weaknesses only pluses that may/should get even better. As yet she might not be that proficient at the net but that skill is no longer such an integral part of the game. Big servers should cause anyone problems but I think her overall game could easily cause them more problems. The three players mentioned are also all capable of a massive number of unforced errors. Gauff hardly gave Rybarikova a cheap point. Maybe a number of back to back games at this level might eventually take its toll but on the other hand a string of victories could add to her confidence level which already seems very high. She is definitely not scared of winning.If she repeats the level against Rybarikova then she should take Hercog in 2 and then the semi-finals would then look even more of a possibility. That could mean a match up with Pliskova although she has an interesting match today. I am not one of them but anyone who has taken a flyer on a big price pre-tournament has reasons to be pretty excited.

From the tone of your post, you'd think this is Gauff's first ever tournament. She isn't ready to win a Grand Slam and I'd be absolutely shocked if she made the quarter finals and stunned if she made the semis. You're overrating her just like you did with Sabalneka last year

Sabalenka*

I am offering an opinion just like you are. I don't believe I did overrate Sabalenka. Pretty sure I suggested she would be a top 10 player and ranking wise that is what she became. She hasn't progressed because she isn't anything like the full package. I don't think I am overrating Gauff either. Time will tell. Stop the press person on forum might be 'shocked' and 'stunned'. As you mention tone your tone suggests that you see yourself on some sort of inflated pedestal.

If you want the truth about what's gone wrong with Sabalenka, you should consistently watch her matches and perhaps then you'd have noticed the problems. She has an unhealthy relationship with her coach Dmitry Tursunov. It was great between them in the beginning when she was on her meteoric rise and winning matches in amazing style. However, when things have started to go wrong the way he treats her has damaged her game. I watched her play Angelique Kerber at Indian Wells and Tursunov refused to give her any praise during the match, no clapping. Clearly something had gone on beforehand. When she called him on court for the OCC, the dynamic was weird. Sabalenka nearly won that day but ultimately Kerber took control from midway in the 3rd and closed it out.

Gauff is a future world number 1. But she's had it very nice so far this tournament. I can't deny she played very well in the qualies against 100+ ranked opponents, beating them with ease. She was then served up a 39 year old Venus Williams who's been struggling with injury much of 2019, her movement is horrendous, and she serves far more double faults than she used to 2 years ago. This on centre court which are the most favourable conditions to play high quality grass court tennis. Next up she played Rybarikova, who is a good quality grass courter but lacks power in her groundstrokes. If you can match her movement wise, she's a sitting duck. Gauff successfully matched the movement and beat her fairly comfortably. Next up is Hercog who's another average grass courter, but with a big serve and fairly powerful groundstrokes. Gauff will move better than Hercog. I see this as a 50/50 sort of contest, but the fact they're playing on centre court which Gauff seems to thrive on suggests she's probably going to win. If so, next up she'll play the winner of Halep/Azarenka. I think either of these will beat Gauff, and that will be the end of her run. If by some miracle she made it past that stage, she'll play the winner of Zhang/Yastremska. I think either of these should beat her too. Gauff at 15 isn't a world beater, but in years to come will be one.

On the other hand I suspect Gauff is going to absolutely dominate the game

YIKES

Coco  is the ' real deal ' make no mistake. The way she came back from the jaws of defeat this evening was quite remarkable.
A prestigious talent. She could readily get to the final of this year's Wimbledon.

Would the real deal go a set and 5-2 down to an average grass courter? No. Making the final this year is total fantasy

Don't get carried away. this was "slow motion tennis". ok she's 15 years old. I have seen it all before  new kid on the block. see you next year, that's as far as your go this year.

Jul 5, 2019 -- 8:51PM, Facts wrote:

Coco  is the ' real deal ' make no mistake. The way she came back from the jaws of defeat this evening was quite remarkable.A prestigious talent. She could readily get to the final of this year's Wimbledon.

theres some serious crack smokers around this forum of late

Gauff shouldn't really have won today but tennis is about getting over the line and it is always best to learn from a win than a defeat.

From the moment she caught the ball on the first serve it didn't look as if she could handle either her nerves or some brutal hitting from Hercog. That forehand and serve would have caused many more experienced players a problem. It wasn't a great watch but credit to Gauff for throwing in some 70s style tennis halfway through that second set. The combination of that change of tactics and Hercog producing the customary WTA choke just about saw Gauff over the line. Hard to believe the result if you switched off after she was a set and a break down. 

Winning from a losing position is a plus but her level today was way below that of the Rybarikova match. She clearly needs to find that level again. Just checked the odds and she has gone from a 1/2 shot today to around 3/1 to beat Halep. Going on court as the underdog could well be a plus. She will know that Halep is vulnerable on this surface and there is no chance that she is going to get smashed off court in a way Hercog threatened to do. The 'experts' seem to think Halep will win but I think Gauff has a much better chance than the current odds would suggest.

I was willing her to get beat!

Fancy having to put up with her and her old woman!

She's vastly overrated, does not even play in the same ballpark as Steffi or Monica. Just another Afrogirl with huge court coverage and serve, but no weaponry whatsoever. She's taking advantage of the fact that her opponents are downplaying to her low level of tennis. Definitely not an alltime great at all.

hater much?

some embarrassing stuff on both sides here

"and it is always best to learn from a win than a defeat."


This is categorically false

Can't just put pseudo life lessons like this out on the innernet. Think of the children!

Market all over Halep. I wouldn't dream of taking the short odds so I hope there isn't some sort of physical issue with Gauff.

Cant understand why goff has drifted like a fish overnight to 40 this morning.Even now with barty out she hasnt budged?
is there an underlying injury someone is cleaning up on

No they just watched her watch against Hercog and realised she's only 15 and her game isn't close to being fully developed

Well funny that she called the doctor halfway thru the match.PERIOD PAINS?

someone knew

thank feck shes out. bbc were wanking over her. how old is she ffs

Can the haters and bangwagoners all stop being so silly

Thank goodness the Betfair forum wasn't around when 15yo Martina Hingis won the women's doubles at Wimbledon 1996, some mad posts here.

Halep was too good for her today by the sounds of it, and will probably still be at a different level for the next couple of years, but in 10 years time when Halep is in her deckchair by the Black Sea sipping a mojito and munching on deep fried Mars bars Gauff will be in her prime.

I'm all for the hype, it was a nice distraction from the fact that the women's side is as underwhelming as it's been for years. Wonder if we'll see yet another first time Slam winner here? (Crazy Babs hopefully) Whether that's down to it being close and competitive or no-one being able to step up consistently is another debate, but there's no reason Gauff can't be the one to dominate once her game is more fully developed.

You'd think from some of the posts that there were like a hundred 15 year olds that made the last 16 at Wimbledon, and that they mostly went on to nothing.

I'd guess there was a very short list and they mostly turned out to be great players.

Graf, Capriati... how many others ?

Hingis made '96 Aus QF at 15.

Kournikova made 4R at the US Open at 15 (whether she was great is another matter - 15 year old Milla certainly appreciated her though)

Had a quick google, but 95% of the results for 'youngest ever' are about Gauff this week, which is as it should be. I guess there might possibly be more if you went back to the 70s and 80s though.

ttt