Coco Gauff stages an epic comeback to defeat Mirra Andreeva at 2023 French Open

Coco Gauff outshines Mirra Andreeva in the battle of teenagers


Coco Gauff stages an epic comeback to defeat Mirra Andreeva at 2023 French Open

Mirra Andreeva vs Coco Gauff (Image via CNN and The Japan Times)

It was always going to be an exciting battle when two teenagers compete against each other. 19-year-old Coco Gauff and 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva took to the court in their round 3 battle at the 2023 Roland Garros. The crowd expected a first battle and that’s exactly what both players provided.

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It was a game of mental toughness. Both players struggled to hold their serve and it was all about who defended better. The match was neck-to-neck till the end of the first set which went in Andreeva’s favour. However, at the start of the second set, Andreeva lost momentum completely and eventually went down to her teenage opponent in three sets.

The first set saw multiple breaks with both players not able to command their serve. The match went into a tough tiebreaker. Mirra Andreeva for some reason looked upset with herself at the end of the set despite winning it. She also received a code violation for her actions. The second set saw an inspired Gauff and the tensions on the face of Andreeva were visible. One could see she feared losing from being a set-up. That’s exactly what happened.

Repeated unforced errors and breakdowns saw Andreeva go down 6-7 6-1 6-1 to the American. It was a memorable Grand Slam outing for the Russian. What was new in this match-up was that she was challenged by a top 10 player. It was physically way more enduring than her first two matches. “Mirra is an amazing young player and has a bright future. I remember being here as a 16-year-old.

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“You guys may see many of our battles in the future. The first set was challenging however I trusted my game plan in the next two and came on top. We both played practice games before and it’s all about adjustments in tennis and Iwas able to do that. The court was very good. The crowd comes for the 3rd and 5th sets and (am) happy to entertain everyone. As I have said Paris is my favourite city” said Gauff in her on-court interview. The American looks solid and will aim for nothing short of the title.

Related: Novak Djokovic rushed to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s rescue after his horror ankle twist at the 2023 French Open

Can Coco Gauff go one step further from last year?

Coco Gauff (Image via The Independent)
Coco Gauff (Image via The Independent)

With a win over Mirra Andreeva, Coco Gauff has really made herself one of the contenders in Paris. She does have the Iga Swiatek challenge coming up sometime this tournament. Nevertheless, she will be full of confidence after acing the first 3 rounds. She came to the final last year and went down to Iga Swiatek. But if Gauff maintains her focus, she can go a step further. Losing only two sets in her first three matches has done her well.

It’s been a while since an American has one here in Paris. Serena Williams was the last one to do it in 2015. Gauff has this golden opportunity in her hand to make history. She is the 6th seed and so far has played like one. Her aggressive game style is matched by a few only which will give her great confidence. Can she stay physically fit through the fortnight? We will have to wait and watch.

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