[ad_1]
Coco Gauff says she has a special reason why she wants to come back to the ASB Classic next year, to see her name next to Serena Williams’s on the trophy.
Gauff convincingly beat Spain’s Rebekah Masarova 6-1 6-1 in the final on Sunday night, for the 18-year-old’s third WTA title.
It was a match that only lasted 75 minutes of actual playing time, but because of more of those pesky rain delays, the final didn’t finish until 9.57pm, almost five hours after it was due to start.
Gauff was presented with the trophy during the presentation ceremony, following the final and on it is Serena Williams’s name, as she won this tournament when it was last played in 2020.
READ MORE:
* Cameron Norrie wants to show New Zealand what he’s got at ASB Classic
* Coco Gauff beats approaching rain, Danka Kovinic to make ASB Classic final
* ASB Classic: Emma Raducanu criticises slippery indoor courts as Australian Open in doubt
Serena Williams holding aloft the trophy for winning the ASB Classic in 2020.
In time, Gauff’s name will be engraved on the trophy and as an extra incentive to return to Auckland, Gauff wants to see her name next to Williams’s.
“It’s pretty cool having your name next to your idol. It’s going to be there forever and that’s crazy really,” Gauff said.
“I’m really happy about that and glad I was able to follow it up.
“I know my name’s not on it yet, but I’m going to take a picture of it, to savour it and hopefully next year I’ll see my name on it and take another picture and be like ‘I’m here!’”
Even though the weather was terrible all week, Gauff said that wouldn’t put her off returning to the Classic in 2024.
“Definitely, the weather is not really a reason for me to say no to coming back,” she said.
Phil Walter/Getty Images
Coco Gauff continued to play incredible tennis all the way through to the ASB Classic.
“That’s part of mother nature, but we still got it done and on the same day we were supposed to.”
This was the most one-sided final in Auckland since Elsa Reinarch from South Africa defeated America’s Caroline Kuhlman 6-0 6-0 in 1993, when the tournament was called the Amway Classic.
Also, Gauff is the first player since Agnieszka Radwanska in 2013 to win the women’s ASB Classic without dropping a set.
But that year the Pole still had to battle hard, beating Jamie Hampton 7-6 7-6 in the semifinal and Yanina Wickmayer 6-4 6-4 in the final.
Gauff lost just four games across the semifinal and final and a good argument could be made that this was the most dominant performance by a player in the tournament’s history.
She put that down to her ability to fight for every point, no matter what the score was, while she was able to deal with all the rain breaks, including in the final, when a shower hit as she had a set point.
Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Rebeka Masarova played better than the 6-1 6-1 scoreline suggests, but she wasn’t able to match Coco Gauff in the final.
However, with the final drawn out so much, the delays were an extra hurdle Gauff had to overcome.
“It was honestly long,” she said.
“I was feeling a little bit tired, not like sleepy tired, but it’s been a long week of rain delays and waiting.
“I’m the type of person that no matter what, I’ll always wake up at the same time.
“Now, with all the adrenalin, I would say that second time we warmed up I felt a little bit bit tired, but once you start the match, there’s no other feeling.
“It’s impossible to feel dead, especially in a final.”
It was Gauff’s aim to build throughout the Classic so that she hits Melbourne in top form and she felt she was able to do that.
“I feel like in each match I improved,” she said.
Phil Walter/Getty Images
Coco Gauff waited for the rain to stop on Centre Court in Auckland.
“Today, I felt pressure coming in as the person who’s supposed to win.
“It adds a bit more pressure and throughout the week coming in as the No 1 seed, I think this is the first time in my career I’ve come in as the No 1 seed, I thought it wouldn’t be a different perspective, but in the back of your head it’s there.
“But for the most part, coming and playing with pressure will definitely help me when I have to play some matches [in Melbourne] when I’m not the underdog or the lower ranked player, when it comes to the later rounds.”
And sadly this week will be remembered as much for the rain as it will for breathtaking tennis from Gauff.
It was just typical that there would be a shower before the final could get underway.
Dark clouds emerged over Stanley Street at 4.20pm and by 4.50pm, just 10 minutes before the players were due to walk out, down came the rain.
By 5.45pm the rain had stopped and courts were almost dry, but you guessed it, there was another shower.
Perhaps the only positive of all of this was that Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown was in a box for the final, so got to witness first-hand the frustrations tennis fans have endured the past week and he might be more inclined now to help fund a roof.
At 6.44pm we were at last underway, but with dark clouds above.
Gauff wasn’t hanging around and served two aces in that first game, winning it in just a minute.
She broke the Spaniard in the fourth game and again later in the set. But when Gauff had a set point at 5-1, the rain fell again, taking the players off court at 7.15pm.
At 9.12pm they were back and it took five set points for Gauff to finally take the set.
Gauff broke Masarova immediately and while Masarova did play better after the resumption, there was no let up in the incredible shots from Gauff.
On championship point Gauff put down a disguised drop shot, Masarova raced in but couldn’t lift the ball over the net.
While Gauff may win plenty of titles throughout her career, it’s unlikely she’ll ever have to go through what she did this week in Auckland.
[ad_2]
Source link