Coco Gauff‘s recent showdown at the Grass Court championships in Berlin made the whole world scream ‘wow’. Although her doubles run alongside Jessica Pegula took a hit in the opening showdown itself, she managed to travel a long way in the singles. While her doubles partner stood as a competitor in the semi-final showdown, she showed extreme levels of fitness by rising from the ground.
Gauff, who was expected to be the one to make her way into the finals appeared to be downtrodden as Pegula took the first set in her name. Even after seemingly being dominated by her compatriot, the 20-year-old lost her grip and therefore slipped in the middle of a rally.
When the scoreboard depicted an even 5-5 score, Coco Gauff was seen responding with absolute strength in her backhands. Running to get in contact with the ball, her foot repelled the grass leading to not just one but two slips. While everyone thought it would result in the loss of another point, the US Open champion proved everyone wrong.
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She stunned her opponent with a massive presentation of reflexes and therefore managed to rise up, finally getting the particular point in her name. Although many of her shots were nothing less than amazing, her opponent decided to not give up and therefore matched the levels by making the score even.
Coco slipping mid-point and then recovering to rip a backhand winner.. the level is going crazy pic.twitter.com/XDdedic0Mg
— Owen (@kostekcanu) June 22, 2024
While everyone was expecting a reversal from Gauff, nature came in as a third party. Dark clouds surrounded the arena in Berlin eventually leading to heavy rains which finally halted play. The match is supposed to be resumed today (Sunday) and will finally decide who gets a chance to be in the final showdown against Anna Kalinskaya. Anna’s SF clashes were nothing short of inspiration!
Riding a wave of momentum, Kalinskaya dominated the opening set of her semifinal clash with Victoria Azarenka on Saturday. Firing nine winners and facing no threats to her serve, she quickly took control at 6-1. However, Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, refused to go down easily. She battled back in the second set, leading 4-1 at one point. Kalinskaya showed her own resilience, forcing a tiebreak, but Azarenka edged it out in a close contest.
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The third set belonged to Kalinskaya. Her powerful groundstrokes produced a barrage of winners (14 to Azarenka’s 3) as she stormed to a 5-1 lead. Despite Azarenka’s valiant attempt, saving three match points at 40-0, Kalinskaya ultimately sealed the victory after two hours and ten minutes with two unreturned serves. While everyone already had a knack for the intensity in the match between Gauff and Pegula, a former pro also had something interesting to say about it.
Chris Evert highlights the difficulty in Coco Gauff’s showdown against her friend
It is kind of odd for the fans to see Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula taking positions on opposite sides of the court. While both of them have had an unmatched chemistry as long-time doubles partners, they recently decided to join hands once again for this tournament. It was mainly because of getting along before the real test at the Paris Olympics arrived.
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Things took a turn as they had to take a hit in the opening doubles showdown. Although both of them survived the singles run, they crossed paths together, attracting the attention of former pro Chris Evert. The French Open legend was stunned to see two friends going brawling against each other. “As I watch this @JPegula @CocoGauff match, I realize how tough it is competing against your friend/ practice partner/ doubles partner,” she said in a recent tweet.
The semi-final showdown between Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff currently hands without an actual result. While anything could happen in the US Open champion’s case, fans still await for the match to be resumed.