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Oct/19

13

Coco Conquers Linz, Wins First WTA title

Mature beyond her fifteen years with a game that can outsmart and outplay veteran WTA players and champions, Coco Gauff introduced herself as the newest WTA force as she defeated former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko in three sets today.

Just fifteen and in her first year as a pro, Gauff has now added her second WTA title, she won Washington DC Citi Open doubles with Caty Mcnally in August, a feat that considerably upstages the legendary player she is most compared to, Serena Williams, who won her first WTA title at seventeen in Paris.

Though she endured some bad results earlier this year – like a 61 61 pounding from Quin Gleason, the former Notre Dame player, in Bonita Springs, Gauff is on a headline making roll now, since her fourth round run at Wimbledon this summer, where she beat Venus Williams in straight sets.

Gauff also won rounds at the US Open before losing a tight duel to two time major champ Naomi Osaka.

Already Gauff has proved she can win most of her WTA matches, able to figure out and solve the games of successful pros with far more experience.

Gauff has the ability to quickly erase stinging losses like the one to Gleason and the one this week in qualies to Tamara Korpatsch, and then shift gears and produce her best tennis.

Just how good Gauff has the potential to become is a question that will intrigue the sport for many years to come.

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222 comments

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 20, 2019 at 12:38 pm

    Don’t think Giorgi is playing tennis to lobby for sportsmanship awards. She is one of those players who plays for one reason only.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 20, 2019 at 12:41 pm

    Bartoli is one coach who gets animated and into the match, not many do. Bartoli really cares. She has rejuvenated Ostapenko. Julia Georges is the Todd Martin of the WTA, great player but just too nice of a person on the court. Like Todd Martin, her sportsmanship is just too good.

  • Hartt · October 20, 2019 at 12:45 pm

    WOW! Andy just won the Antwerp title over Stan! He is truly back. Someone posted that Andy was in tears.

  • Jon King · October 20, 2019 at 1:01 pm

    Andy Freakin Murray!

  • catherine · October 20, 2019 at 1:32 pm

    Some not so nice news – Sascha Bajin is leaving Kiki in the lurch – from her twitter it seems she is disappointed and angry. I suspect Sascha won’t find getting another job that easy now – he seems to have what you might call ‘issues’. I hope Kiki gets a good coach soon. She’s had a decent year.

  • Andrew Miller · October 20, 2019 at 1:40 pm

    Murray is, as Dan said, comeback of a lifetime. Muster to me came back from the dead, Brian Baker also. But Murray, that hip. Amazing amazing amazing.

    Great from Shapovalov to nab his title. I think he needs to improve a lot of things, but he should be proud of this and savor it. His technique is strong, but his consistency is more shallow than it should be. Nonetheless: bravo to Shapo, may he keep up the good work.

  • Andrew Miller · October 20, 2019 at 1:42 pm

    Ostapenko shows her run last week was no fluke and that she was going to see this through to the end. Maybe her K-instinct is back?

    As for Goerges, no shame, an excellent run to the finals match. This should rev her up if she is playing again this year.

  • catherine · October 20, 2019 at 1:44 pm

    Scoop – just saw your message on Kiki’s twitter. Are you suggesting Sascha will return to Naomi ? No chance. Or maybe Coco ? No chance there either. Muguruza ? That would be a fun pairing. Kerber ? Don’t think Sascha’s German is up to much. The possibilities must be limitless for Big Sascha.

  • catherine · October 20, 2019 at 1:49 pm

    Andrew – I’m sure Julia will play next year – it’s the Olympics and Germany won’t have much of a team without her (and Angie). She needs to get her coaching team sorted out.

  • Andrew Miller · October 20, 2019 at 2:02 pm

    Mladenovic is p/od with Bajin. Her statement was effectively: you decided we are no longer working together after a successful coaching player run. However, Bajin has consistently focused on the talent of other players when he speaks and his own ambition in podcasts.

    I think Mladenovic called this correctly, as in “I did my part and we did well. What’s your problem?”

    Maybe Scoop hears things from his sources. I like Mladenovic – she needs to max her game more (strength training, some strategy, a few more weapons like a top spin lob, more K-instinct). But Bajin always said in his podcasts with press that he and Mladenovic were good friends and then talked about Osaka and Serena and coaching elite players (which means he sees himself only as a coach of the best and that this was just to keep him funded through his next gig).

    I also don’t see him coaching a player below the Mladenovic level. I wonder who he coaches next.

    Given Mladenovic doesn’t seem to be at fault and appears hungry she should reach out to Stefanki.

  • catherine · October 20, 2019 at 2:15 pm

    What I can’t stand about Bajin is the way he rips his shirt off at the slightest opportunity so we can all admire his god-like build.

    Sascha’s best friend is his mirror.

  • Hartt · October 20, 2019 at 2:24 pm

    Andrew, I agree that Shapo needs to be more consistent, but he was more patient in this final than he sometimes is, and that is a big step. He had his first breakthrough at such a young age it is easy to forget that he is just 20, and is still learning.

    Rublev turned 22 today, so the Moscow title was a great birthday present!

  • Andrew Miller · October 20, 2019 at 2:35 pm

    Not going to pile on. Bajin doesn’t hide that he sees himself as a coach to the world’s best players. If the switch for his next gig took place in Moscow he could be coaching an ATP or WTA player because he’s been asked before if he sees himself only as a WTA coach and he said no.

    Listen I think it’s stupid to depart a working coaching player deal especially when there’s progress but this works both ways. Players shove coaches to the sideline and coaches trade up, as Ljubicic did with Raonic and Puig coach did in saying byebye for Stephens even though Puig MOVED TO CHICAGO to work with them.

    Always a little mystified by the betrayals in sports but, money power loyalty that’s part of sports too. Nice to see some partnerships that keep working and I am glad this is the case for Andreescu, whose coach decided I think better to help this player. James Blake wasn’t “better” for moving beyond his childhood coach – he had about three very very good years, then switched coaches after so much ridicule, then did worse (though Blake plateaued around then, to my eye around the time he lost the Delray final to Nishikori, who would go on to be a star with a better career than Blake).

    Personally I don’t like it, and it’s always puzzling when you have the awkwardness of hitting next to a player who stole your coach or who has a coach that left you in the lurch (see Puig, US Open, practice courts next to Stephens ..no hard feelings wink wink).

    But again works both ways. Some players don’t think twice about sending a coach into unemployment and some coaches don’t think twice in pursuing a huge raise from a wealthier or better player. Such is tennis.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 20, 2019 at 2:50 pm

    Bajin is good, he has every right to drop a player like Kiki for whatever reason, just like players drop their coaches at the drop of a hat. He obviously has another gig lined up, some top player hired him and it will be announced soon.

  • Andrew Miller · October 20, 2019 at 2:57 pm

    Hartt, I watched Shapo and congratulations to him on his first title. I am sure he has another one or several or more than that in him, and he has for a long time now had a promising and very complete game as well as a knack for finishing points. Good stuff if not great.

    Any title is sweet

    I noticed some things and hope he works on them, and they are the same things many players must work on so that they break through more often. We know a lot of great players (versus promising ones) have said that they never expected to play so well (after they have shown themselves that very capability).

    Consistency is a capability in and of itself. Grinding is a capability in and of itself. And rounding out the edges of an incomplete game also shows great foresight

    For what it’s worth I get all of this from what Larry Stefanki has said before, and even though he has an agenda I think he is straightforward and calls situations accurately. He does this especially with respect to Chile tennis, where he keeps tabs (because he coached two of their best players lifetime). And he has also been less charitable (as in his assessment of Nico Massu coaching Thiem, which he despises)

    But is Stefanki wrong? Not really. He says Thiem isnt better with Massu who provides encouragement but essentially is on board for moral support rather than adding any dimension to the Thiem game. It’s possible Stefanki had a Thiem tryout to be the Thiem coach (and goes after players that don’t hire him a la Bouchard).

    But I don’t question Stefanki judgment when he looks at all the areas and dimensions of a player game and asks them to plug the holes so that their chances of consistent runs go up. Stefanki wasn’t wrong on the likes of Dimitrov, who has done next to nothing after his US Open and Chengdu runs. So his frame works for any players.

    I like Shapo a lot and Canadian players have had a banner year. Shapo I think has a chance to be even better than many lefty players (outside of Nadal) and I think he can win a Masters title and possibly make a slam semifinal and take out other fantastic players. To do that I think he needs to raise his consistency and really work on his return of serve. I think that takes pressure off his own serve.

    Standard stuff. Just who works on this? Shapo has had a good year and I’d love to see his very nice game with more heft. Hopefully he stays with it and likes the sensation of raising trophies like he did today.

  • Andrew Miller · October 20, 2019 at 3:02 pm

    If karma exists, Mladenovic should get a better coach for her soon to help her break through much as Bajin did. More likely Mladenovic and Bajin will face off again soon.

    I don’t want to read into this anymore. It will be interesting to see what Scoop hears in the event there are whispers, which there have been around Bajin and every single player every year given Bajin is a character. Selling books in Japan as Osaka coach being called a hitting partner. Staying shirtless on his Twitter feed. The guy knows his tennis and he’s a world class character capital C. Don’t believe Bajin isn’t ambitious…he sees coaching as his mission in life and ticket to everything under the sun.

    But he keeps seeing himself as above his charges and they keep showing otherwise. So I think he’s going to get fired again 🙁

  • Andrew Miller · October 20, 2019 at 3:07 pm

    Shapovalov and Rublev winning, just more evidence that the young guys are establishing themselves as greater forces. Both these men now need to think about how to make it through slams. They are getting there. This should also inspire FelixAA, he’s going to want a title of his own seeing Shapo is 1-0 in finals. Rublev has acquitted himself well and made good on his fine run in Cincinatti.

    Both still have much work to do

  • Hartt · October 20, 2019 at 3:37 pm

    Sports reporter John Horn had a good summary of some of the highs in Canadian tennis this past year, although he did omit Bianca winning IW and Leylah Annie Fernandez winning the RG girls’ trophy.

    Canadian tennis in 2019…

    Shapovalov wins 1st career ATP
    🏆

    Andreescu 1st
    🇨🇦
    to win a Grand Slam singles
    🏆

    Andreescu 1st
    🇨🇦
    in 50 yrs to win Rogers Cup
    🏆

    Auger-Aliassime youngest player in Top 25 since 1999

    Auger-Aliassime 3 ATP Finals

    Schnur 1st career ATP Final

  • Andrew Miller · October 20, 2019 at 3:56 pm

    Horn MUST list Andreescu first 😉

  • Hartt · October 20, 2019 at 5:42 pm

    Lol re Bianca. It looks like he was going from the most recent event back through the year.

    Andrew, you will be pleased to know that this is what Denis said after today’s match:

    “There’s a lot to improve,” he said. “I think there’s still a lot, not gaps, but areas where I can get better.

    “I can definitely get (cleaner) at the net, improve my returns, improve my movements. There’s many things I can get better (at) that will help me for the future.”
    (tsn.ca)

  • Hartt · October 20, 2019 at 8:41 pm

    With the discussion here about the parents of young tennis players, I thought it was interesting that Tennis Canada has a large section on their website with suggestions for parents. It is called “Parent Portal: Being a Sport Parent.”

    “It’s not easy sitting on the sidelines as your kid competes their heart out in a tennis match, but how you handle yourself as a supportive sport parent has a major effect on their performance AND emotional well-being.”
    (Tennis Canada twitter)

  • Andrew Miller · October 21, 2019 at 12:00 am

    Hartt, Shapo said right stuff. I hope he means it, have no reason to think he doesn’t. I like his game and it also is more professional than it was. Next stage is big and requires a leap and much work. He’s no Andreescu yet :). This should also motivate Raonic, FelixAA, they are looking behind!

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