‘Anything can happen’ – ‘Progressing’ Coco Gauff could win French Open, says Patrick Mouratoglou

Serena Williams and Simona Halep’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou believes Coco Gauff is physically and mentally prepared unlike before to win her first ever Grand Slam title.

Gauff has not dropped a set en route to the French Open semi-finals this year and will play Italian Martina Trevisan in the final four in Paris on Thursday afternoon.

The American burst onto the tennis scene as a 15-year-old at Wimbledon in 2019 when she knocked out compatriot Venus Williams in the first round. At the 2020 Australian Open, Gauff beat Naomi Osaka – who was defending champion at the time – in straight sets in the third round.

But despite a flurry of shock wins, Gauff is yet to come close to winning a Grand Slam. Reaching the semi-finals of this year’s French Open is a career-best result for the 18-year-old.

Mouratoglou thinks Gauff’s game has greatly improved in recent months and that she now has the mental resilience and the game needed to win her first Grand Slam title.

“She is progressing at her pace,” the Frenchman told Eurosport’s Mats Wilander.

“She is not someone who suddenly exploded with winning a Grand Slam coming from nowhere. And in a way it’s better because she’s building the foundations for the future.

“Everybody thought she would very early because she had beaten Venus Williams at Wimbledon and beat Naomi Osaka the year after at the Australian Open and people think ‘she is ready [to win Grand Slams]’.

“She was not ready and when you see her now you realise that she was not ready at that time.

“There were a lot of things missing. First of all she was making 15 to 20 double faults a match. It’s difficult to win a Grand Slam with this for example.

“She was emotionally not stable during the matches, a lot of ups and downs. It’s very difficult to win a Grand Slam with that.

“If you see her here she is much more stable during matches. She is serving much better. She has erased some flaws that she had in her game that were preventing her from being able to win a Grand Slam.

“She is progressing. Every time you see her she is better. When I saw the draw here I said I think she has the draw to reach the final. If she reaches the final then anything can happen.”

Eurosport tennis expert Tim Henman says Gauff’s rise to the top of the women’s game has been brilliant to witness.

“I think Gauff’s story has been absolutely incredible,” he said.

“I was lucky enough to be at Wimbledon when as a 15-year-old junior she came through qualifying and made the fourth round and she really announced herself to the global game of tennis.

“She’s had a steady improvement. She’s had a lot to deal with and is still finishing her education but to see her at 18 when she’s still so young but has tour experience.

“She’s played in a lot of these tournaments before. To see how her game has evolved and improved and how mature she is for someone so young is a brilliant story.”

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