Paris Olympics: Coco Gauff vs Donna Vekic; Preview, Head-to-Head, and Prediction

Coco Gauff is ensuring the American flag flies high in Paris! The 20-year-old American tennis star recently became the youngest American woman tennis player to win a singles match at the Olympics since Venus Williams (2000). Millions of American hopes are now lying on the shoulders of this youngster and guess what? She has now already moved into the third round of the singles event at the Paris Olympics. Next up for her is Croatia’s Donna Vekic!

Gauff has only dropped five games so far in this mega event. She’ll be keen to continue her dominating run on the Parisian clay. On the other hand, Donna Vekic has struggled a bit on this surface. What can we expect from this matchup?

Coco Gauff vs Donna Vekic: Preview

Coco Gauff has already defeated Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round, followed by a similar dominance against Argentina’s Maria Lourdes Carle. She defeated the Argentinian by 6-1, 6-1 in just 1 hour 26 minutes. Gauff failed to hit even a single ace, but committed 6 double faults. She won 57% of her first serve and 74% of her second serve but in the breakpoints, she could only manage to save 6/8. She has hit 157 aces but has committed 256 double faults. She has won 72.8% of her service games and 47.2% of her return games.

Donna Vekic defeated Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-2, 7-5 in the first round and overcame the Canadian challenger, Bianca Andreescu 6-3, 6-4 in the second round. Vekic hit 2 aces and committed 4 double faults. She won 51% of her first serve and 89% of her second serve. She recorded 7/13 breakpoints. She has so far hit 173 aces this season and has committed an equal number of double faults (173). The Croatian tennis star has won 74.8% of her service games and 33.4% of her return games in this season.

Gauff vs Vekic: Head-to-Head

The two have not faced each other on court so far. Gauff is currently ranked number 2 in the world, whereas Vekic is placed at the 21st spot in the women’s singles ranking. Beating Gauff on clay won’t be easy, but we all know the potential of this Croatian. On her day, Donna Vekic can become a threat to even the superstars of the game!

Prediction: Gauff to win in three sets

Vekic has the potential to come up with a surprise, but if we look at the current form of Gauff, it’s hard to pick her as the second-best. She has a win-loss record of 35-11 this season, whereas for Vekic it’s 22-15. Even in the ranking as we have seen earlier, there is a huge gap. Although Gauff didn’t win a title on clay, her consistency on this surface, especially in this season, makes her a clear favorite. However, both have been struggling with their serves this season, which means they will need a solid return to move ahead.

What does Donna Vekic think about facing America’s number one? “I have never played against Coco. I’m not thinking about it now, the most important thing is to get well-rested,” said Vekic in a recent interview. If we take a look at their playing style, Gauff prefers an aggressive style of play with big serves. She has made some transitions in her style in the last few months. With her strong backhand on her side, Gauff can be the victor here. Her biggest strength has been her speed and athleticism will help her too. She is a “fighter” on the court and can generate real power behind her shots.

Vekic prefers a quick game where she can take advantage of flat shots. However, on clay, they will not bode well as she will need more topspin. If she were to stress Gauff’s forehand, she could take the win, but it is unlikely the American will give her the chance. 

Vekic loves hitting it hard and flat across both wings. Her major strengths are her big first serve and strong forehand. Vekic’s weaknesses are her movements on the court and she has also struggled a bit with poor shot selection. She needs to keep a check on the high percentage of unforced errors as well, in order to stand firmly against someone like Gauff.

For Gauff, clay is beloved. Although she describes her playstyle as aggressive, she prefers defensive strategies, which have earned her a few titles and taken her far in Roland-Garros, as they will likely do once again. Overall, looking at all these stats the American looks slightly ahead in this battle!