MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) —
Coco Gauff let a big lead slip away and wound up dropping the last five games of a mistake-filled 6-7 (8), 7-5, 6-2 loss to Anastasia Potapova in the third round of the Miami Open on Saturday.
The No. 6-seeded Gauff, a 19-year-old from Florida, was critical of herself afterward, saying that her footwork wasn't great, that her mindset was off and that she played too defensively after serving for the victory at 5-3 in the second set.
"That's kind of been where I've been messing up in all my matches this year. All the ones I've lost I think I lost because of that. I think it should be more used as a tool in a toolbox than as a weapon," Gauff said. "I think I have to change my mentality in the game about not relying on that too much because I think sometimes I play a little bit too passive because I know I can get to balls."
She heard chants of "Let's go, Coco!" from spectators at the hard-court tournament as she overcame a 5-2 deficit in the opening set, then erased a pair of set points for Potapova in that tiebreaker. Gauff grabbed the set on her second chance with a cross-court backhand winner.
The 2022 French Open runner-up then seemed to be pulling away, going up a break in the second set at 5-3. But Gauff eased up and Potapova became more aggressive in their lengthy baseline back-and-forths, taking four games in a row on a sunny afternoon with the temperature above 80 degrees Fahrenheit (nearing 30 degrees Celsius).