Coco Gauff declared herself “happy” following her agonising Wimbledon semi-final exit on Thursday evening, despite letting slip a match point against Karolina Muchova.
The American seventh seed held a 9-8 advantage in the deciding 10-point tiebreak before her attempted dropshot found the net. Muchova capitalised ruthlessly, claiming the subsequent three points to seal a 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 triumph and book her place in Saturday’s final.
The 22-year-old two-time Grand Slam champion reflected positively on her campaign, which represented her deepest run at SW19. She had previously fallen at the fourth-round stage on three occasions, including during her remarkable debut as a 15-year-old in 2019.
“There’s a lot of positives. Obviously got super close,” Gauff told reporters. “A match for sure to remember. It’s tough to digest, but I don’t know, I’m happy.”
Coco Gauff suffered an agonising defeat at Wimbledon
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Gauff faced intense questioning about her shot selection at the crucial moment. Rather than second-guessing herself, the Floridian pointed to her success with the same tactic throughout the match.
“I mean, there’s one thing to be, like, why play a dropshot, but then I think how many points I won off the dropshot,” she explained. “Yes, people who don’t watch tennis are going to be like, ‘Why did you do that?’ At the end of the day, that’s the choice I made.”
She conceded the decision may not have been optimal, whilst noting that a successful execution would have drawn praise for its audacity.
The return from Muchova proved awkward to handle, Gauff revealed. “The bounce kind of caught me off guard. I just panicked a little bit.”
BBC pundit Tracy Austin suggested during coverage that Gauff had changed her mind half a dozen times before settling on the dropshot. The American firmly rejected this assessment from her fellow countrywoman.
Coco Gauff has insisted she has no regrets over her Wimbledon exit
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“Honestly, I didn’t change my mind too much,” Gauff stated. She acknowledged that hindsight offered alternative options, adding: “I feel like if I had to do it over, I probably would have gone for a slice forehand down the line.”
The ball’s trajectory made her choices limited, she explained, noting the bounce was not particularly high. Gauff admitted she would need to review footage before offering a definitive verdict on what she might have done differently.
“It’s a learning experience. I know I can do better and improve on that, and going with a higher-margin shot in a pressure moment, for sure.”
Karolina Muchova beat Coco Gauff in dramatic circumstances
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Gauff drew parallels with other elite players who have experienced similar heartbreak on the grandest stages. She referenced Roger Federer’s defeat to Novak Djokovic in the 2019 Wimbledon final and Jannik Sinner’s loss to Carlos Alcaraz at last year’s French Open, both after holding match points.
“Every great champion has this happen in their career. Maybe this is something I need to be on their level,” she reflected.
The American struck a combative tone when addressing inevitable online criticism. “I probably already got some hate comments (from bettors),” she acknowledged. “It’s okay. It makes you stronger… it’s the usual. It sucks, but it’s like, ‘whatever. I’ll be on the winning end next time’, and I’ll be sure to tag them.”
