Coco Gauff faces Naomi Osaka in a US Open that “will stick with me the rest of my career”

NEW YORK—Novak Djokovic never did this. Nor did Serena Williams. Not Roger Federer, nor Iga Swiatek nor Rafael Nadal. None of those Grand Slam champions—in fact, not many pros, period—have done what Coco Gauff is trying to do here at the US Open.

And you wonder why she’s been so emotional, so overwrought that in her second-round match with Donna Vekic she was unable to suppress tears on one changeover, and visibly trembled during another?

Gauff is going where no great player has gone before. She is attempting to fix a major deficiency: a wayward serve. And doing it in real time, in a Grand Slam tournament, in full view of anyone watching.

On Saturday at the US Open, Gauff showed signs that her bold gamble may be paying off. She rolled through No. 28 seed Magdalena Frech in a scant hour and 13 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium, 6-3, 6-1.

Frech, a 27-year-old from Poland, is short on power but has an elegant game full of classic, grooved shots, along with really quick feet. She engaged Gauff in numerous rallies of 20 shots or more, with both women firing away at each other’s forehands—a challenge Gauff might have shied away from in the past, but met head on.

Gaff got the best of most of those rallies. For the match: French made 17 forced errors to Gauff’s nine, and nearly twice as many unforced ones (29-18).

But the salient detail in the stats was that Gauff lobbed in only four double faults. She leads the WTA in that infamous department, with over 300 eight months into the year, 23 in one recent match in Montreal alone. After that match, Gauff knew that something had to give.

In a lucky stroke, serve and biomechanical specialist Gavin Macmillen, who had worked wonders previously for Aryna Sabalenka, suddenly became available shortly before this tournament. Gauff was sick of having her guts twisted up over her serve, even when she still managed to win matches with her superb defense, rock-solid backhand, and steely determination. Defying convention—most players make changes in even far less consequential areas under cover of night—Gauff hired McMillen.

I just felt like I didn't want to waste any more time. Coco Gauff on hiring a serve coach right before the US Open

It was, in some ways, high time. Gauff is such a superb athlete that she can compensate for or overcome any number of flaws, but perhaps not against elite opponents.

The assignment for McMillen, a “sport performance specialist” in biomechanics, involved a variety of areas (including the forehand, which already looked much better). But the main focal point is the serve. To that end, he has changed Gauff’s service motion, a delicate mission at the best of times, never mind in the pressure cooker of a major.

“I just felt like I didn't want to waste any more time,” Gauff explained after her first win, over Ajla Tomljanovic, a harrowing, three-set slog in which she hit 10 double faults (which already was something of an improvement).

“It’s definitely tough going through the match and battling that internal battle, especially since this is the first tournament (with McMillan). The universe happens how it is, but I wish I could have done this maybe in Montreal.”

McMillan immediately set about making changes to Gauff’s ball toss, her shoulder alignment, body rotation and launch point. He wanted her to focus less on serve speed than developing new muscle memory, a task Gauff has compared to “learning a new language.”

The stress that had been building up in Gauff due to her serving woes, and the apprehension she felt taking a step so drastic, perhaps appearing desperate to many, caught up with her in the second round. Her match with Vekic was tight from the get-go, those tears she shed during the first set a nod to the pressure she was under as a former champion in New York, where she is beloved.

Gauff managed to squeak out the first set with a 7-5 tiebreaker, but settled in to claim the second, 6-2. She hit only eight double faults, though—two fewer than her opponent. Something was working.

Surviving that challenge, Gauff struggled to control her relief. She also felt immense gratitude for a crowd that had done it’s best to get her across the finish line. When Gauff addressed them, she said, “It’s been a rough couple of weeks, but I’m just happy to be back on this court. You guys give me so much joy and the reason. . .”

Tears began to trickle and glisten on Gauff’s cheeks, and she stepped away from the microphone to regain her composure. When she resumed, wiping her face, she said, “You guys really help me a lot. So I’m doing this for myself, but I’m also doing it for you and no matter how tough it gets inside, you [we] can do it.”

In her ensuing press conference, Gauff addressed the turbulence she felt in the first set:

“I think it was just nerves and just pressure, honestly, and I’m someone that usually can thrive on that. There's been a lot on me this tournament, more than usual, which I expected coming in. . . [But] I was able to reset. It was a challenging moment for me on the court.”

A different sort of challenge awaits in the fourth round, where Gauff will face a resurgent Naomi Osaka, another former US Open champion—and one with whom Gauff has had an interesting history.

In 2019, Osaka crushed 15-year-old Gauff in the third round on the same court that will host their next match. Gauff cried after that rout, but Osaka went over and comforted her with a hug. She also invited Gauff to join her in the winner’s on-court interview, telling the youngster that speaking to the crowd was a better option than “crying in the shower.”

Gauff doesn’t believe she will feel any special pressure when she plays Osaka, whom she leads 3-2 in their series. Any emotions associated with that famous meeting in 2019 have long passed their use-by date. If anything, facing another major champion comes as a relief, no matter the state of Gauff’s in-transition game.

This whole tournament I think will stick with me the rest of my career, knowing that if I can get through, like, two tough matches feeling how I’m feeling, I know I can get through pretty much anything.

She believes that a player of Osaka’s caliber, against whom Gauff will not be a prohibitive favorite, will put her under far less pressure than having to duel with another underdog. The difference is especially germane because of Gauff’s situation, although Osaka is also justified in rolling the dice, feel free to hit without inhibition. She’s taken great strides of her own here in Gotham and has her own fish to fry.

“I'm honestly excited to play her now, because I feel healthy, and I just want to see what happens.”

Whatever the outcome, however far Gauff penetrates the draw, this tournament is already indelibly written into her mind.

“This whole tournament I think will stick for me the rest of my career, knowing that if I can get through, like, two tough matches feeling how I’m feeling, I know I can get through pretty much anything,”

Gauff said. “Regardless, I hope I get more Grand Slam finals and when those nerves come, I'll recall this feeling and know that it probably can't get much worse than this.”

She spoke those last words with a smile, a stark contrast to the tears she shed not so long ago.