WTA Match of the Day: Maria Sakkari vs. Coco Gauff, Cincinnati (NYC)

If it wasn’t for Maria Sakkari, Coco Gauff’s place in tennis history would be just a little less special.

After losing in the qualifying draw of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz indoor tournament in 2019, the then 15-year-old made the most of her lucky-loser entry when Maria Sakkari withdrew with a wrist injury. Gauff stormed to victory, becoming the youngest player to claim a WTA title since Nicole Vaidisova won Tashkent in 2004.

Since then, Gauff has only gotten better. Already among the game’s quickest and most consistent hitters, Gauff has used her spectacular defensive skills to her advantage. In Lexington, she survived one of the game’s biggest hitters in Aryna Sabalenka, then defeated the always tricky and extremely unorthodox Ons Jabeur in the next round. And with a pair of wins over Venus Williams—at Wimbledon and at the Australian Open, no less—she has proved her game is already tough enough to beat the world’s best players, no matter their playing style.

Few opponents are athletically on-par with Gauff, but Sakkari is one of them. Though she fell in straight sets to Kristyna Pliskova in Palermo, Sakkari has proven she has the game to defeat anyone on tour.

“One match is better than nothing of course,” Sakkari told TENNIS.com ahead of her return to the court. “But it wasn’t enough for me to feel that I’m back in action and back in that competition mood. It was nice to get one match and see how it feels to compete. It’s going to be tough in the beginning but it’s the same for everyone.”

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Sakkari owns one of the game’s most effective kick serves, but this strength will likely be negated by Gauff’s explosiveness and stout backhand return. Gauff certainly has momentum on her side, as well as recent hard-court match experience, but is listed as just a slight favorite at -165, meaning the oddsmakers believe this match can go either way.

Though Gauff was impressive in Lexington, she showed a tendency to play reactive, defensive tennis. For her to consistently succeed on the biggest stages, she’ll need to turn her offense up a notch. However, judging by her high level two weeks ago, and Sakkari’s less-than-confident outlook coming in, expect the youngster to advance past the Greek—and inch closer to a hopeful round-of-16 clash with idol Serena Williams.

The Pick: Coco Gauff