Coco Gauff has been given serving advice by tennis great Mats Wilander following her Australian Open exit with the commentator also suggesting that she seeks more help from Andy Roddick.
In a rematch of the 2023 US Open final that was won by Gauff, defending Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka exacted revenge as she secured a 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 victory in the semi-final at Melbourne Park on Thursday.
Reigning US Open champion Gauff produced a disappointing service display as she made eight double faults and landed only 57% of her first serves, winning 65% of those points. It was even worse on the second serve as she won only 39% of the points.
Ahead of the Australian Open, the American’s coach Brad Gilbert revealed that she had spent time with Roddick during the off-season and the teenager herself admitted that she has made big improvements following “the most meaningful two days of practice”.
“I just adjusted the way that I tossed the ball up a little bit, which allowed my toss to be more consistent,” she said. “Then I just felt that the more consistent my serve is, the more I’m ok with going for it in those big moments.
“I still know I can improve on it, but I’m really happy with the progress that I’ve made in the short amount of time.”
On the back of her poor service performance against Sabalenka, former world No 1 Wilander advised the 19-year-old to go back to the drawing board and work with Roddick, who was known for his booming serve during his heyday.
“[I’d advise Coco to] spend more time with Andy Roddick to get her serve in shape, ” he said on Eurosport.
“We know she’s serving harder and the first serve is better, even though her percentage was 50%, which is not enough.
“She needs to get her right elbow up a bit; she seems to fall down a bit too much. Toss straighter up. That’s what Andy Roddick was famous for. That’s going to solve so many problems when she has a consistent second serve.
“It’s going to make her first serve better and it’ll make her feel like she doesn’t have to go for aces all the time either.”
Former British No 1 Tim Henman summed up the American’s service performance on Eurosport as he also believes she will become a tough nut to crack once she sorts out her second serve.
“I think Gauff served eight double faults but for me, the lack of direction of second serve from Coco Gauff and Sabalenka was able to return so aggressively,” he said.
“She served into the middle of the box to give herself margin for error and she only won 39% of second serve points. You feel threatened on your second serve all the time and your opponent can really dictate. There was a lot of focus on her erratic forehand but now she needs to look at her second serve. If she addresses it, she will be really tough to beat.”