Disappointed Gauff still confident of good run at French Open despite Rome final defeat
The American said she will take the positives from reaching back to back WTA 1000 finals
Inside/psnewz
Coco Gauff said she would be leaving Rome disappointed but with optimism that she can go one better at the French Open, which begins later this month.
Gauff was not at her best against an inspired Jasmine Paolini in the Italian Open final on Saturday, losing 6-4, 6-2, with her serve and forehand both misfiring.
But after reaching back to back WTA 1000 finals, the American said she would take a lot of confidence from achieveing such good results without ever playing her best tennis.
“Definitely proud of the two results, but also disappointed,” she said, asked to sum up her thoughts. “It’s a bittersweet feeling. Jasmine played great tennis today. Unfortunately I felt like I didn’t bring my best, which Overall I lost to two quality opponents, Aryna in Madrid and Jasmine here. So yeah, I think I have a lot to improve, a lot that I can work on.”
“I made the final with those errors”
Gauff hit seven double faults and made 55 unforced errors in the final, although many of those were beceause she was going for her shots even more than normal, not wanting Paolini to dictate from the baseline.
“I was trying to be more aggressive because I felt like if I was being passive, she would run me across the court,” she said. “With the double-faults, it’s something I know I have to improve and do better. If I want to make it to the next level, it’s definitely something I have to improve.
“I made the final with those errors. Made the final maybe not playing my best tennis. It just gives me confidence if I can find that good form heading into Roland-Garros, I can do well there. I knew I needed today. (But) overall a lot to look forward to in Paris.”
Praise for Paolini
Gauff said Paolini deserved her win.
“Jasmine played I think great tennis today,” she said. “I think it was one of her best levels today. I also didn’t play my best level. I think it’s both.
“It’s not to discredit my opponent. She forced me to play that way. Yeah, maybe I could have served better and put more balls in the court, could play better. I definitely could and can. But she played to win today and she deserved to win.”
