“Coco Gauff is fighting some demons, she needs to get past this tournament” – Andy Roddick on the American losing in US Open 4R

Andy Roddick recently gave his thoughts on Coco Gauff losing in the fourth round of the 2024 US Open. Gauff, who had clinched the title at the New York Major last year by defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the final, couldn’t defend her championship this time.

Gauff was seeded third at Flushing Meadows and began her campaign by defeating Varvara Gracheva 6-2, 6-0 and Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-0 in the first and second rounds, respectively. She then triumphed over 27th seed Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the third round. However, her hopes of retaining the title were dashed when she fell to 13th seed Emma Navarro 3-6, 6-4, 3-6 in the fourth round.

In a recent episode of the “Served with Andy Roddick” podcast, Roddick said that he was not surprised at Gauff’s early exit from the tournament, citing her recent dip in performance as the factor. He believes the American needs to work on her service to return to her best.

“Coco Gauff – I didn’t choose her to go far just based on recent form. I liked when she acknowledged the serving problems in a press conference. I feel like this has been such a whirlwind for her. There is no doubt that second serve is in her head. No doubt if Corey and Coco were sitting here right now they would probably tell you the same thing. I know Brad [Gilbert] would tell me the same thing not because he has, just because I’m sure he would,” Roddick said [at 15:06].

The former World No. 1 noted that Coco Gauff being under immense pressure, expectation, and spotlight affected her performance on the court.

“It’s a lot of expectation, a lot of spotlight especially when you’re trying to work through things. The spotlight doesn’t really matter if you’re feeling great, if you’re confident. It is just this thing that you have to deal with,” he added.

Andy Roddick also said that despite her mental resilience, Gauff is still grappling with inner struggles that are hindering her from playing to her full potential. He said that the World No. 3 needs to move past the disappointment of her loss at the US Open and “reset and rebuild” herself.

“When you go out there and the rumble and the mumbles, when you hit 10 or 11 double faults in one set, those become a lot louder when there’s 25,000 people doing it. You kind of feel that weight a little bit more. She always gives all of the mental effort and she’s fighting some demons right now. But she needs to get past this tournament in the defence of it to really kind of reset and rebuild,” Roddick said.

Gauff believes that despite being the female flag bearer for the USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics representing her country in tennis and having a decent season so far, it has not been the summer she expected.