American tennis star Coco Gauff is looking forward to getting some game time on grass courts ahead of the Wimbledon Championships. She is all set to take on Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in the R16 of the Grass Court Championships in Berlin. Both the players met each other previously at the same stage and the same venue last year. The Russians had the last laugh in their previous meeting. Can the new world number two come up with her A-game on the grass court to take revenge?

Coco Gauff started her season quite well by winning the title at the ASB Classic, but she failed to reach any finals after that. However, she came close on several occasions and has made it to the SF four times and QF twice. Alexandrova, on the other hand, has reached one final and two SFs this season. It’ll be interesting to see how Gauff approaches this game against the number 20 in Berlin.

Coco Gauff vs Ekaterina Alexandrova: Preview

Coco Gauff is entering this tournament after her SF loss to the world number one, Iga Swiatek, at the 2024 French Open. Swiatek defeated the American comfortably by a 6-2, 6-4 margin. Gauff hit three aces and committed four double faults against the Polish tennis star. She won 69% of her first serve and 37% of her second serve. However, Coco Gauff could only convert one out of her four break points in that match.

Despite not making it into the finals in 2024, Gauff has maintained a fair bit of consistency this year. If we take a look at her numbers from this season, there is only one thing that would concern her. Gauff has hit 132 aces but has committed 240 double faults. She quickly needs to put a check on her service to get better results in the upcoming mega-events. She has won 71% of her service games and 49% of her return games.

Her opponent, Ekaterina Alexandrova, is entering this contest after defeating the Brazilian tennis star, Beatriz Haddad Maia, by 6-4, 6-4 in the R32 of this tournament. She hit six aces and committed four double faults in this match. Her first serve win percentage was 88%, while on the second serve, it dropped to 69%. She would go on to convert three out of her seven breakpoints against the Brazilian.

So far, she has hit 148 aces and committed 164 double faults this season. Despite coming up with flares in some of her matches, she has failed to maintain consistency this year. She has won 69.2% of her service games and 29.3% of her return games. But who is leading the H2H scoreline as of now?

Gauff vs Alexandrova: Head-to-Head

Both Gauff and Alexandrova have met each other three times in their careers so far. Coco Gauff currently leads the H2H with a 2-1 scoreline. She won their first encounter at the 2021 Dubai Tennis Championships by three sets. After that, they met each other at the R16 of the 2023 Grass Court Championship in Berlin, and in that match, Alexandrova beat Gauff by 6-4, 6-0. However, Gauff made a strong comeback in their next meeting at the China Open in the same year.

She defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 6-3 in the R64 match. Coco Gauff hit three aces and committed four double in that match, while Alexandrova could only manage to hit two aces and committed six double faults. The American won 74% of her first serve and 54% of her second serve. On the other hand, the Russian tennis star won 63% of her first serve and 53% of her second serve against Gauff. She managed to convert two out of her five breakpoints, while Coco Gauff converted four out of her eight breakpoints in that match.

Prediction: Gauff to win in three sets

Coco Gauff reached the SF of this tournament in 2022, whereas Ekaterina Alexandrova reached the SF of this tournament last year. However, if we look at their current form and the difference in their rankings, surely the American will be entering this contest as a clear favorite. Gauff currently has a win-loss record of 30-9, while the 29-year-old Russian has a win-loss record of 17-15.

The Russian player comes up with a hyper-aggressive style of play accompanied by powerful serves and equally venomous groundstrokes. On the other hand, Coco Gauff’s game heavily relies on her incredible athleticism and power play. She’s highly competitive on every surface, no matter who is up against her on the other side of the court. However, her weak serve can cause her downfall.

This match will be an interesting contest to watch, but Coco Gauff has every weapon in her arsenal to come out on top of the intriguing clash with a big win!