By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Picture credit score: Tony Chang/Chang Images
It was Coco Gauff’s coming of age match.
New mother Belinda Bencic stole the present.
Wild card Bencic broke within the penultimate sport toppling the third-ranked Gauff 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to achieve the Indian Wells quarterfinals immediately.
Serving at 4-all, 40-love within the decider, Gauff squandered the lead, misplaced serve and in the end the match within the following sport.
The reigning WTA Finals champion dedicated eight double faults—13 fewer than the career-high 21 double faults she clanked in her opening-round win over Moyuka Uchijima.
Patches of erratic play off serve and forehand have plagued Gauff this season.
Afterward, Gauff stated she believes she’s making strides attempting to sharpen her second serve and stabilize her someday fragile forehand, however advised a few of her follow progress is not translating to the match court docket.
Nonetheless lower than 5 months faraway from her rise to the WTA Finals championship, Gauff stated she’s not beating herself up over her gradual begin to 2025.
“Total, I really feel like, I imply, it is not as dangerous because it appears, I suppose. I imply, begin of the 12 months, I did properly at United Cup and misplaced to Paula [Badosa] fourth spherical in Australia,” Gauff stated. “Center East wasn’t a fantastic swing for me. Right here, I imply, I misplaced 6-4 within the third within the fourth spherical towards a tricky opponent who’s coming off a 500 win.
“Clearly I wished to do higher, wish to have higher outcomes, however it’s not one thing I can crush myself on. I am attempting to do higher, and that is all I can do. I am attempting to work on issues in follow, and sadly proper now it is not translating how I would prefer to.”
At crunch time immediately, Bencic pounded away at Gauff’s forehand wing bleeding errors to seal her quarterfinal return.
“Yeah, I felt like she was extra tense, so I felt like that was the precise time to go for her forehand,” Bencic instructed the media in Indian Wells. “Clearly, like, it is troublesome to on a regular basis go at one aspect, as a result of I really feel like if somebody shouldn’t be so assured on one aspect, the more serious you are able to do is give them rhythm.
“However, yeah, it was an instinctive alternative, and undoubtedly really feel like additionally a tactical factor, and I hope that the rating stress would additionally sort of work into her mindset a little bit little bit of not being so assured and being a little bit bit tight.”
The 2023 US Open champion Gauff celebrates her twenty first birthday on Thursday—a reminder that point is on her aspect as she strives for enhancements.
Although a lot has been manufactured from Gauff’s excessive western grip on her forehand, one of many points on this match was her tendency to hit too many forehands open stance and off stability.
In distinction, Gauff has wonderful preparation on the backhand wing, usually steps into that shot and makes use of bigger muscle teams along with her hip and shoulder rotation to essentially drive the ball.
Too typically on the forehand, Gauff was opening up her shoulders early and brushing up on the ball.
Gauff stated she’s shifted her grip barely on serve and goals to serve extra aggressively.
“We sort of modified loads of issues with the serve,” Gauff stated. “I do not wish to get into specifics of it, however yeah, I imply, I went on the follow court docket after the primary day after which after the opposite day.
“You recognize, I nonetheless suppose I may have served higher. Was clearly extra constant, however undoubtedly wish to get extra aggressive with it. It was sort of a kind of issues the place I began the match not serving properly, so it is extra so simply attempting to get it in.”
