Cori Gauff is in good spirits ahead of her US Open first round match as she feels lately she has been “rising to the occasion.” Leading up to the US Open, Gauff reached back-to-back quarterfinals in San Jose and Toronto before retiring injured in the Cincinnati first round.
In Toronto, Gauff clinched two notable wins as she defeated Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and sixth-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. Against Sabalenka, Gauff was up by a set and a break before Sabalenka stormed back to win the second set and take a 3-0 lead in the third set.
Just when it seemed Sabalenka would pull off a big comeback victory, Gauff found a way to get back into the match and win 7-5 4-6 7-6 (4). After the match, Gauff was happy about how she reacted as she admitted that in the past she would have lost such a match.
“I was reverting back to old mentalities,” Gauff said, via Tennis365. “I got to a point where I was being too negative on myself. And I said if I was going to lose, I’m not going to lose like this. So I had to change.
And that’s what I did”.
Gauff: I feel like I’m rising to the occasion
“These are the type of players I need to have to beat if I want to win a Grand Slam,” Gauff noted. “So these matches are giving me more confidence.
For me I needed these matches leading up into the US Open. I think you guys can see on my forehand and my serve there’s definitely been a drastic improvement. I think that right now I feel like I’m rising to the occasion.
Whereas before I felt like I was almost crumbling to the pressure because I was trying to deflect it”. In the US Open first round, Gauff plays a qualifier. It remains to be seen if Gauff can win her first Grand Slam title in front of her home fans at the US Open.
