Patrick Mouratoglou argued there is “a real technical problem” with Coco Gauff’s forehand as he assessed the American’s French Open loss to Iga Swiatek.
The Frenchman, who coaches ATP star Holger Rune, feels Swiatek had significant success by playing “excessively” to Gauff’s forehand side.
Gauff made an impressive run to the semi-finals at Roland Garros as she won her first four matches without dropping a set, before overcoming Ons Jabeur in a three-set quarter-final.
The US Open champion then ran into world No 1 and three-time French Open champion Swiatek in the last four and fell to a 2-6, 4-6 defeat.
It was Gauff’s third Roland Garros loss to Swiatek in as many years, after straight-set defeats in the 2022 final and the 2023 quarter-finals. The 20-year-old now holds a 1-11 record against the four-time Grand Slam champion.
Following the semi-final clash, Mouratoglou identified three factors which he feels prevented Gauff from being able to push Swiatek harder.
“I would have liked not to tell you about Cori Gauff’s forehand, but there is a real technical problem. And it is true that Iga Swiatek played excessively on that side, and she did well,” Mouratoglou told France TV.
“I think there are three reasons why the match didn’t give the fight we would have liked. First, I didn’t see a real game plan from Coco, I found that she was typing everything in all directions and that it wasn’t really constructed.
“We didn’t really know what meaning she wanted to give to her match. Then, there was this weakness on the forehand side which was exploited very well by Swiatek.
“And then, there is the management of the important points because there were still plenty of chances and, each time, it was Swiatek who was the best.
“So when you don’t manage important points well, when you have a big weakness and when the game plan is not clear, it’s difficult to win.”
Tennis legend Justine Henin, who won four Roland Garros titles, also gave her thoughts on Gauff’s performance.
“Even though there were times when she actually created situations for herself, I find that at no time did we have the feeling that she could really do something,” said the former world No 1.
“She tried to be very aggressive, especially at the start of the match before adjusting certain things in the second set but her reaction and her few tears spoke volumes about her nervousness.
“She obviously knew the history of their confrontations, particularly at Roland Garros, the extreme domination, because it is still phenomenal what Iga Swiatek is doing, and she returned with a lot of stress on the short.
“She doesn’t know how to go about it, she tries things but never with any form of stability. It’s not just about managing important moments, it’s also about the background of the game and his ability to shake up Iga Swiatek in a regular and stable manner during a match.”