Wimbledon, England — Coco Gough went through a shocking defeat in the first round at Wimbledon on Tuesday. Her early exit in the Grand Slam since losing in Round 1 at Wimbledon two years ago. The American, the champion at Roland Garros last month, struggled after hitting nine double faults and losing 7-6 (3) Dayana Yastremska to Ukrainian-born World No. 42 Dayana Yastremska.
This is what I was wrong.
Gouf’s serve broke
Golf’s serve has always been vulnerable, but usually she can find a way to deal with things when it breaks. On Tuesday, even if the roof was closed, he took away the elements issues, but Goff struggled with the rhythm.
The second serve in particular broke, and it got too heavy on my shoulders at once. As Yasternska stood firm at the baseline, the pressure rose. In total, Gauff hit nine double faults and won only 44% of the points on her second serve. Only 45% of her initial services left her vulnerability, and Yasteremska made the most of it.
Goff seemed mentally exhausted.
Winning the French Open last month clearly took a lot from Goff. The Americans had to work very hard to overcome the draw in Paris. And the final was particularly difficult when the wind took a life for both her and Arena Sabalenka.
Ideally, after winning the Grand Slam title, a break would be right, but Gouf had little time to recover mentally. She lost her only warm-up match in Berlin – against her opponent who hit hard on the flats, she realized what she wanted. The fact that she only hit six winners tells her own story. The fight was not there.
“I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate, mentally, because I felt a bit overwhelmed by everything that came later,” Gouf said Tuesday after the game. “But this is the first time I’ve had to play Wimbledon with a victory. I definitely didn’t.”
Yasteremska is just as tough as Gauff faced.
Ranked 42nd, Yasteremska was not far from the sowing location. The Ukrainians reached the final in Nottingham and created a lodging in Eastbourne. Her best efforts at Wimbledon in the past were the final 16 shows of 2019, but she is a quality player who made the semi-finals in Australia a few years ago.
Despite 25 unenhanced errors, she denounced 16 winners. “I think it was a great game today. It was really on fire,” she said. “I hope the path continues. It’s a joy to be here.”
Gouf agreed. “She played great. I saw the draw and knew it would be a tough match for me. I played her with clay (in April). And I think it would be a little better for me. It was still a tough three setter (at the time). Yeah, I knew it would be tough today.”
