A master class in smothering: Sakkari blitzes Coco Gauff in New York

A WTA coach once told me his operative phrase for contemporary tennis boiled down to two words: forehands and fitness. Double F. Everything else, he felt, was incidental.

That principle was eloquently brought to life today in New York (the temporary venue for Cincinnati), when 13th-seeded Maria Sakkari took a brisk 64 minutes to beat world No. 50 Coco Gauff, 6-1, 6-3.

This first-time matchup held great promise. Propelled by superb fitness, the 25-year-old Sakkari has diligently made herself a near-Top 20 player (she’s currently No. 21), since the start of 2019, notching six Top 10 wins. The 16-year-old Gauff has soared into the Top 50 and just last week reached the semifinals in Lexington—and throughout her entire 15-month ascent has demonstrated a captivating and promising mix of tenacity and tactical acuity.

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But fitness wasn’t Sakkari’s only weapon today. From the start, she commanded the real estate of the court. On the first point of the match, Sakkari carved a sharp ace wide. In the next game, with Gauff serving at 0-1, 15-30, Sakkari took advantage of a shallow second serve to pound a deep, hard return. Two points, later, she’d broken and was off to the races—that is, powerful but self-contained.

Though Gauff held at 0-3, there was little she could do to derail Sakkari, who took the first set 6-1 in 25 brisk minutes. Call it a master class in smothering, less in the high-octane firepower of Aryna Sabalenka (who Gauff had beaten in Lexington) and more in the understated but forceful manner of Kim Clijsters.

As we’ve already seen often, Gauff not only stays in matches; she looks to assert herself, somehow, in some way. Holding at love to start the second set, she reached break point in the next game. Would this turn the tide? No way, came the answer from Sakkari in the form of a sharp 106 m.p.h. serve down the center. Sakkari held, then broke Gauff in the next game.

Through the balance of the set, Gauff continued to pose more questions—a few sharp backhands, a sprinkling of slices—but Sakkari kept coming up with answers, breaking Gauff at 3-5 to close out the match.

Double F indeed.