Coco Gauff crashes at Wimbledon in the first round after a three-set defeat to compatriot Sofia Kenin
- Coco Gauff admitted she has a lot to improve on after her shock defeat
- The No. 7 seed lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 at Court No. 1 to Sofia Kenin
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Coco Gauff said she still has a lot to learn after a painful first-round exit from compatriot Sofia Kenin in the biggest shock of the week at Wimbledon so far.
No. 7 seed Gauff was defeated 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 at court No. 1 by Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion who is currently ranked No. 128 in the world.
Born in Moscow but raised in the US, Kenin never progressed past the second round in SW19, while 19-year-old Gauff suffered her first dropout at The Championships.
And a disgruntled Gauff said, “I knew it was going to be a tough first round for me. I did my best, but it wasn’t enough. I think I still have a lot to do if I want to improve on this.
“I absolutely have to take care of my service games. I think I’m a better server than she is, but I think she took care of the pluses and plus-twos much better than I did.”
Coco Gauff suffered a shock first-round defeat to compatriot Sofia Kenin at Wimbledon
Gauff had some stern words about the state of her game following her shock defeat in London
The defeat of seven-seeded Gauff was one of the biggest early upsets of the week at Wimbledon
“Of course my forehand needs work. I mean, be more aggressive with those shots. I think I made too many mistakes on my forehand and backhand today.’
She said of opponent Kenin: ‘She had nothing to lose today.
“Of course she won a Grand Slam, but she is at a difficult point in her career. So I knew when she came in she would play with a lot of motivation. It was all about how I would play today and how I would take care of my side of the court.”
Gauff will play doubles with compatriot Jessica Pegula, the world number 4 who won on Monday, adding: “I mean, obviously the goal would be the doubles win, but I haven’t really thought about it.”
Kenin, the Grand Slam champion who had to qualify for the tournament after seeing her ranking drop, said: “I feel like this year hasn’t been all lows per se, but I feel like it’s a comeback- year for me.
“I feel like I started the year well, I played well. I had a good feeling that this year was going to be a good year for me.’
On proving the world rankings wrong by toppling No. 7 Gauff, Kenin said, “It gives me a boost to try and prove them wrong.
“Sure, I mean when I was ranked higher and stuff, people looked at me like I had to win. I try to use that as a way to… I knew she’d be a little more nervous because there’s more pressure on her than on me.
Kenin was delighted with her victory in what she describes as her ‘comeback year’
“I just tried to use everything to my advantage.”
Pegula previously said American women are pushing each other and Kenin added, “I feel like women’s tennis, American women’s tennis is incredible right now.”
“Everyone is playing so well. Jessie (Pegula), Maddie (Keys), Coco (Gauff) of course, everyone else. That is clearly trying to push me out to be at the top.”