Coco Gauff has proved her mettle in the tennis arena at a very young age. The 20-year-old has captivated the tennis community with her exceptional talent and gameplay. Over the years, she has consistently demonstrated her prowess on the court, leaving spectators and opponents in awe. Her current campaign at the ecoTRANS Ladies Open is equally laudable, drawing attention from fans and critics alike.

The 2023 US Open Winner is witnessing a remarkable season on grass so far, this year. She has already advanced to the Quarterfinals and is all set to face Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals. However, her latest match against Ekaterina Alexandrova was not a cheesewalk for the tennis star who faced a mild scare in the first set of the game. While she won the set, 7(8)-6(6), what captivated the fans was her resilience to fight back. Andy Roddick, too, joined the fray and lauded her gameplay.

On June 21st, Andy Roddick appeared on the Tennis Channel Live Podcast, to discuss several factors including the ongoing Ladies Open. Speaking about the match, the former US Open winner praised Coco for her resilience. “We know that she is great at dealing with it when she is struggling with something. She wins matches even when it’s not perfect.”  2003 US Open champion further continued to applaud her and said, “I think Coco is really good here.” Roddick’s statement comes at a time when Coco Gauff has received some flak for her flaws and imperfections. 

In the Round of 16 at Madrid, Coco committed 13 double faults. This made several experts including the likes of Rennae Stubbs comment on her ‘outrageous’ gameplay. “Everyone talked about the forehand…What the f*ck..again, the serve is killing her,” Rennae had said, Explaining further, she added, “She is double-faulting in double digits.” Despite the difficulties, Coco has continued to improve, as evidenced by her recent statements as well.

Gauff and Alexandrova were playing in Berlin for the second year in a row. Last year, also in the Round of 16, Alexandrova tallied an emphatic 6-4, 6-0 win over the then-No.5 seed on her way to the semifinals. However, Gauff claimed that she doesn’t even remember the match. “I’m a different player from last year. She’s a great player to play, especially on grass … so I knew it was going to be tough.” Meanwhile, Coco and Roddick’s praise for each other is not new.

‘I don’t think I could have gotten anybody better’: When Gauff expressed her gratefulness to Roddick

When Coco Gauff was facing challenges with her serve ahead of the Australian Open, she reached out to Andy Roddick to help her improve her skills. While the duo practiced only for two days, it seems to have given Gauff some good lessons. Speaking after her first-round win at the Australian Open this year, Gauff talked about practicing with the 41-year-old.

“I think I just need to continue to trust it and trust all the work that I did in the offseason,” Gauff said. “He’s probably one of the best servers in history, and especially on the American side. So, yeah, I don’t think I could have chosen anybody — or actually, I didn’t really choose, he offered. So I don’t think I could have gotten anybody else better to kind of help me with that.”

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if the young star can outshine her previous seasons on grass which has not been an ideal surface for her. Can Gauff win big at the surface? Only time will tell.