Coco Gauff wants to be like Andy Roddick and Andy Murray but that’s not enough claims Mats Wilander discussing Brad Gilbert’s importance for the teen

Coco Gauff recently won Cincinnati Masters.

Coco Gauff wants to be like Andy Roddick and Andy Murray but that’s not enough claims Mats Wilander discussing Brad Gilbert’s importance for the teen

Coco Gauff and Brand Gilbert (Image via Sportskeeda)

American teen tennis sensation Coco Gauff has got her mojo back after a series of failures at the start of the year and her new coach Brad Gilbert has played a massive role in her redemption. Pointing to the same, Mats Wilander has explained how Gilbert has put Gauff’s mental state in a place where she only thinks about winning. 

Wilander cited examples of Gilbert’s coaching stints with Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, and Andre Agassi. The former Swedish tennis player claimed that Coco Gauff wants to be grinders like Andy Roddick and Andy Murray but that is not enough and Gilbert knows it really well. Wilander then explained how Brad Gilbert has helped Gauff plan her strategies better. 

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“Coco wants to be a grinder, like an Andy Roddick, like an Andy Murray. She wants to be that person, but it’s not enough. You got to turn into someone else when the scoreline means less. And Brad Gilbert is the absolute master at that,” said Wilander to Eurosport. The former player also explained how Gilbert works with his students and hailed the American coach saying he is a master at identifying talent.

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“He gets in there, he gets into their heart and their mind, and he’s not going to take no for an answer. If you say no, then he’s on to the next person. And I think he did that with Murray. He helped Andy Roddick win the US Open. He helped Andre Agassi come back and win the career Grand Slam. He gets what talent means.”

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Mats Wilander claims Brad Gilbert has made Coco Gauff understand tennis better

Coco Gauff Cincinnati Masters
Coco Gauff after winning Cincinnati Masters (Image via Wall Street Journal)

The former Swedish player then talked about how Brad Gilbert has helped rectify her mistakes. Mats Wilander feels that Gilbert made Coco Gauff understand tennis better and how it is different from a sport like basketball where players fight and fight. 

“I think that he has helped her to understand that tennis is not a sport where you just fight and fight and fight and you collect points and you put them in a pile and at the end we count them up. No, that’s not tennis, that’s basketball. And he’s a big basketball player and fan. He’s understood that tennis is about the big points, and what they mean.”

It is worth mentioning that ever since Brad Gilbert has come on board as Coco Gauff’s coach, the American has seen her graph go up. She won the Citi Open and then lifted her maiden WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati. Now, with her confidence skyrocketing, Gauff will start the 2023 US Open as one of the favorites. 

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