Coco Gauff news: ‘Disappointed’ teenager gives her verdict after shock Australian Open exit

Australian Open
Coco Gauff plays a shot

Too many unforced and being “little bit tighter than normal” are just some of the things that contributed to Coco Gauff’s shock first-round defeat at the Australian Open.

The highly-rated 17-year-old was stunned by Wang Qiang at Melbourne Park on Monday as the unseeded Chinese player won 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 13 minutes.

Wang broke in game five of the opening set before racing into a 5-0 lead in the second set.

It was an impressive display from Wang, but her American opponent made life easier for her as she made 34 unforced errors.

“I don’t know if it was just an off day or just getting used to it (conditions),” Gauff said.

“Today I came into the match and the first couple of games, even though they were close, I was making more errors than I was used to.

“Just everything disappointed me about today. I feel in the pre-season, I worked really hard, and I felt like I was ready to have a good run here. Today I just didn’t perform well.

“I didn’t play as free as I normally do today. I think I was playing a little bit tighter than normal.

“So I think next time coming into the first round of a Slam, especially after a tough week before, I think I need to just play more free and focus on the moment.”

Coco Gauff Wang Qiang

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