Coco Gauff ‘still second or third favourite’ for US Open, says John McEnroe
John McEnroe believes this year’s US Open will be “a lot wider open” for the women as there are a lot of question marks over the top players.
Coco Gauff is the defending champion at Flushing Meadows, but she has struggled since Wimbledon as she lost early at the Paris Olympics, the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open, winning only one match on the hard courts ahead of the final Grand Slam of the year.
World No 1 Swiatek is coming off a semi-final defeat to Aryna Sabalenka in Cincinnati. Sabalenka, who won the WTA 1000 title in Ohio, has struggled with an injury in recent weeks while Elena Rybakina has played only one match since Wimbledon as she missed the Paris Games and the Canadian Open due to illness.
Most eyes though will be on Gauff as she looks to win back-to-back titles at the US Open and tennis great McEnroe says the pressure will be on the American with most players will be “going after her”.
“She’s excited to be defending her title. She’s also sort of bewildered about some of the results,” he told ESPN in a US Open preview press conference.
“I think the pressure of expectation hits all the top players. She won the US Open. It gets more difficult in a lot of ways ’cause you got people coming after you, you’re a bigger win. Everyone in their camp expects more. She expects more.
“To look at all the players that played at the Olympics, they’re struggling to sort of make that transition back onto the hard courts. They’re fatigued. There’s a lot of emotion at the Wimbledon, the French.
“To go from the clay at French, to go to Wimbledon, to go back to the clay, then to the hard courts, that adds up especially for the players that are feeling pressure. They have high hopes, which is where Coco fits in.
“She’s still the second or third favourite to win this. You might even put her in level tournaments in terms of Swiatek. Rybakina, she hasn’t had the results. Sabalenka has been hurt, then she’s now just won Cincinnati.
“… It is a lot wider open, and something unexpected could happen, particularly with all the emotions and fatigue that are happening. Having said all of that, she’s still the second or third favourite.”
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McEnroe’s fellow great, 18-time Grand Slam winner Chris Evert warned that Gauff will be exhausted after all her commitments recently while her opponents have also started “exposing that forehand”.
“… The round of 16 at Wimbledon, third round at the Olympics, third round at the Canadian, second round, I believe, in Cincinnati. She did go home, is that true, for a few days? She said she was going to go home for a few days because she’s supposed to play in an exhibition,” she said.
“I just think it’s a lot. She’s in demand physically. She’s in demand with appearances. Everyone wants a piece of her.
“Plus, the fact that the players now are exposing that forehand. It’s not backhand, backhand, forehand. They’re hitting every ball to the forehand. She had like 50 unforced errors in her last loss to Putintseva.
“I just think it’s been a long year. It’s been a long year. Do I think she can turn it around? 100% I think she can. Sabalenka is injured. Sabalenka had one good tournament. Iga has been struggling as well.
“Rybakina has been struggling as well. It’s going to be who is the freshest, who is the freshest for seven matches, and who can hold on and get that energy that they need. She can still win it.”
