“I make things bigger than what they are,” Coco Gauff breaks down the effect of home tournament after exiting the Miami Open

The sixth-seed, Coco Gauff suffers an early exit losing to Anastasia Potapova in a hard fought three setter in Miami

“I make things bigger than what they are,” Coco Gauff breaks down the effect of home tournament after exiting the Miami Open

Coco Gauff

Despite winning a challenging first set, Coco Gauff was defeated by 27th-seed Anastasia Potapova in a two-hour and thirty-two-minute match with a score of 7-6(10-8), 5-7, 2-6. It was the third encounter between the two, and the 21-year-old Russian emerged victorious, claiming her first win against the American. Despite losing, Gauff has a season record of 15-5 in terms of wins and losses.

In her second-round match of the Miami Open 2023, Gauff displayed excellent rhythm and form, winning the first set in a tie-breaker 7-6 (10/8) against Anastasia Potapova. However, the situation reversed soon after, and the American ultimately lost both the following sets and the match.

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Speaking about her nerves after losing the match, Gauff said, “Yeah, it’s definitely a difference. I don’t know how much it affects me or not because I do feel like, in general, I make things bigger than what they are. I don’t know how much it affects my game, per se. In my first-round match, I was a little bit nervous, but I was definitely fine. I mean, playing at home is great. Today stepping on the court, I wasn’t nervous going into the match. Even throughout the match, I wasn’t nervous.”

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She further added and said, “I feel like it’s one of those things that maybe the feeling is there and I’m not recognizing it. But, yeah, I don’t think that’s the reason why I lost today. I really think it was a combination of Anastasia playing well and me not stepping into the court when I needed to in certain moments. Generally I tend to see the negative sides of things. I think right now I’m, like, I didn’t play good.”

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A disappointed Coco Gauff is confident about clay season

Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff at the Miami Open

Despite facing a third-round elimination at the 2023 Miami Open, Coco Gauff remained confident. She expressed her desire to go further than her previous performance in the upcoming clay season. Gauff later talked about transitioning from playing on hard courts to clay as the clay swing is scheduled to start next month.

Speaking in the press conference she said, “I definitely think the game does simplify a little bit. I have a clearer picture of how I want to play on that surface. I definitely think physically, usually, those are the players that are doing well on clay, so I think that’s why it suits me a lot.”

An early exit from her home tournament is certainly considered a heartbreak for the teenager. However, Gauff had already seen a lot of ups and downs at a very young age. She is definitely known to come back stronger in the upcoming clay season. She will be determined to play well at Monte Carlo starting next month and aim for the Roland Garros.

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