John McEnroe – “I Hope Coco Gauff Loses Tomorrow”

After the teenage phenom crossed the Atlantic Ocean, ‘Coco Mania’ from Wimbledon has landed in New York. Coco Gauff played two three-setters matches at US Open 2019 and now she is all-prepared to face the top-seed and the defending champion, Naomi Osaka in the third round of her home county Slam.

The American legend, John McEnroe acknowledged that he wants the 15-year-old tennis phenom, Coco Gauff to lose in Saturday night encounter against Naomi Osaka. The entire Arthur Ashe Stadium will be cheering for their native wizard, but Coco’s compatriot, McEnroe wants her to experience a defeat against Osaka.

He terms Coco’s win would be a disgrace to the women’s game since Osaka is ranked Number one in the world and she is the defending champion at the US Open 2019. Coco’s win or Naomi loss would disparage WTA standards as World Number one would be surrendering to a 15-year-old.

“I hope Coco Gauff loses tomorrow, personally,” John McEnroe told ESPN. “I actually think it would be bad for the sport of tennis if the defending champion who is struggling – I know she’s got a knee issue – but that would be devastating to her and she’s the one we were talking about last year like Coco Gauff – if Coco Gauff at 15 can beat the defending champion, break down the defending champion.”

Presently, Naomi Osaka is not in her perfect form. In Cincinnati, she dealt with a knee injury and withdrew from her quarterfinal match against Sofia Kenin. Also, since her Australian Open 2019 victory, Osaka’s performance on the Tour has dwindled.

“In my opinion, too much too soon, less is more… hopefully, her parents are taking it slow because to me in four or five years, she’s going to be world No. 1. What are the odds of her being able to – if she were hypothetically to win a US Open – be able to maintain something like that with all the expectations that were put on her and everything that comes with that? I’d say like a million to one,” McEnroe said.

The third round match at US Open 2019 will be one the biggest matches of Coco’s career as she takes on the World Number one and the defending champion in a Grand Slam tournament. Despite Osaka’s recent downfall on the WTA Tour, McEnroe is assured about Naomi’s victory in the Saturday’s showdown.

“I’m just saying. She shouldn’t be as good as Osaka yet at 15. I think she’s got a good shot. Osaka is hurt and mentally she fired her coach after winning two Slams. To me, she’s got a real chance,” he added.

Coco Gauff became the youngest woman since Anna Kournikova in 1996 to reach the third round of the US Open. During her matches at Flushing Meadows, Gauff could hear the crowd rooting for her from every corner of the court and she has played rollercoaster matches in New York so far.