Coco Gauff is staying positive despite falling short in her only match at this year’s Qatar Open.
After a tough exit at the Australian Open, Gauff had hoped to get her season back on track in Doha.
But things did not go as planned. She lost to lucky loser Elisabetta Cocciaretto, making it two early exits in a row for the American.
Despite the result, Gauff did not let it get her too down. She was disappointed with how she played but kept perspective about where she is in her career.
Coco Gauff keeping things in perspective after Qatar Open exit
Gauff had previously won all six sets she had played against Cocciaretto before falling 6-4 6-2 in Doha.
Even though it was a loss to the world number 57, Gauff told reporters afterwards that she was not too discouraged, noting her results had not been strong during last year’s Middle Eastern swing either.
“I mean, I was really confident to start the year off, so I don’t really know if it’s that,” said the 21-year-old star.
“Today I was feeling good going into the match, and confident.
“I don’t know, I mean, obviously my last match in Australia wasn’t good, and then today wasn’t good either. I don’t know. I think I am just going to try to learn from it, and hopefully do better in Dubai.
“I’m also not like too upset, because I didn’t do well here last year. I feel like it’s also something that I have to find how to compete better in this part of the swing.”
This was not an isolated result either – Gauff has now lost three straight matches at the Qatar Open across recent seasons.
Coco Gauff picks out the one highlight from her Qatar Open defeat
Gauff did not have many positives to take from her loss to Cocciaretto, but she was at least encouraged by how her serve held up during the match.
While her serve has often been an issue in recent seasons, the two-time Grand Slam champion noted that she hit fewer double faults this time around, which was something she felt good about.
“Yeah, I thought my serve was pretty good today. I got broken a lot, but I feel like that was more my ground strokes than my serve. Whereas before, I felt like it was a lot to do with my serve. So that’s really the only positive I think I can take from today,” Gauff stated.
“Yeah, I guess you can look at it that way. I think I’m more critical to look at it like that. But I will say the biggest change I have made obviously is my serve, and today with only three double faults, it’s positive for me.
“The same with the matches that I had in Australia, I think not really many double-faults as well. That’s the one positive. Now I need to figure out what I’m doing off the ground to lose these matches.”
There is also another bright spot for Gauff – she will be back as American number one when the next WTA rankings are released.
She will be looking to build on that when she heads into her next event at the Dubai Tennis Championships, starting on Sunday, 15 February.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
