‘Full Circle’ Moment Turns Coco Gauff’s Coach Nostalgic as Former Pupil’s Mastery Rubs off on His Australian Open-Chasing Apprentice

Coco Gauff is a work in progress. Her powerful serve and great court coverage make her game different from other young stars in tennis. But even as a professional,  always open to suggestions when it comes to improving her game. Recently, Gauff’s coach Brad Gilbert revealed that it was Andy Roddick who helped Gauff fix her serve ahead of the Australian Open.

Gilbert guided Roddick to clinch his first and only US Open title in 2003. Then, in 2023 he helped Coco Gauff to win her maiden Grand Slam title at the same tournament. Can he now guide Gauff to her second Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park?

Gilbert recalls the moment when Andy Roddick helped Coco Gauff simplify her serve motion

The 62-year-old renowned coach comes with a vast experience in the racket sport. He knows when to bring out the trump card to make ways easier for his player to succeed against the best of the game. Andy Roddick, someone Brad Gilbert coached almost two decades ago, came in as a special guest to take a look at Gauff’s serve. 

On Sunday, on a call with ESPN for the first day of the AO, host Chris McKendry asked Gilbert to recall that special moment. And here’s what he said in his interaction with his former player. “I coached Andy at a young age. He’s got an amazing serve. And I was thinking, ‘what a great person to take a look at Coco’s serve.’”

He further went on to add, “It’s kind of full circle. When I coached Andy, I was his age now. Andy was like Coco’s age. It was a great two days. Really helped things out, simplified Coco’s motion, abbreviated a little bit.”

READ MORE: Coco Gauff Cries ‘Foul’ as She Lashes Out at ‘Ugly’ Attempt to Back Americans Playing in the Australian Open

Coco Gauff became the youngest American to win the US Open title after Serena Williams in 1999. But that’s past and now she wants to win more. 

Gauff wants to win at least 10 Grand Slam titles in her career

Only 7 women in the history of the game have managed to win 10 or more Grand Slam titles. Margaret Court sits on top of them with a staggering 24 Grand Slam titles. Recently Gauff was asked if she had any numbers in mind about how many Grand Slams she’d love to end up with. In reply, she said, it’d be ‘cool’ if she could manage to get to the ‘double digits’ in major titles. Can she achieve her dream?

Well, she’s on a dream run at the moment. Last week she defended her Auckland Classic title and has won 29 out of her last 33 matches. Up next for her is Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová at the first round of the 2024 AO.

Is Coco Gauff among among your picks for this year’s Australian Open or are you rooting for someone else?

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