John McEnroe believes Coco Gauff is similar to Carlos Alcaraz as they are both “extremely athletic” and competing with “some of the bigger hitters” on their respective tours.
The seven-time major singles champion declared that he would be surprised if 2023 US Open winner Gauff did not win “a bunch of more” Grand Slam titles.
Gauff will face world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals of the 2024 Australian Open on Thursday as she looks to make her second final in as many major tournaments.
The 19-year-old defeated Sabalenka in three sets in the final of the 2023 US Open in September to claim her maiden Grand Slam title. The world No 4 was also a runner-up at the 2022 French Open.
The American, who defeated Marta Kostyuk in the quarter-finals in Melbourne, is on a 10-match winning streak after defending her title in Auckland to begin her season.
Sabalenka is the defending Australian Open champion, having downed Elena Rybakina in three sets in last year’s final to win her first major. The 25-year-old Belarusian has reached at least the semi-finals at the last six Grand Slams.
4 – Only against Katerina Siniakova (5) Coco Gauff has won more matches than against Aryna Sabalenka (4). Whilst only Iga Swiatek (6) and Kiki Bertens (5) have won more Tour main draw matches against Aryna Sabalenka than Coco Gauff (4). Duel.#AusOpen | @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/pHMiOdjUub
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 25, 2024
Speaking to Eurosport, former world No 1 McEnroe likened Gauff to two-time ATP Grand Slam champion Alcaraz and backed her for more major success.
“You know, I look at Coco a little bit like Alcaraz against some of the bigger hitters. It’s similar with her. She’s not as big as the other players and but she’s extremely athletic, the way Alcaraz is. I expect her to win more majors,” the American said.
“She will definitely win more majors. She seems to be in a good place. Mentally, she added some pieces to her team, such as Brad Gilbert, and is working with Andy Roddick and you can see the improvements on her serve.
“Brad has a history with some of the other top players, so he knows you know what it takes, and it seems to have helped her. Obviously she won the US Open already so I expect big things from her. She’s still young. But over the course of the next 10 years, I’d be surprised if she didn’t win a bunch of more majors.
“It will be interesting hopefully to see her develop along with some of these other players and soon there’ll be a new younger player or two that will be added to the mix.”
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