STUTTGART/WASHINGTON, April 19, 2023 (by Michael Dickens)
Coming off of a successful week in the Billie Jean King Cup, in which she helped the United States qualify for the BJK Cup finals, 19-year-old American superstar Coco Gauff had no time to rest on her laurels. It was off to Europe for the World No. 6 from Florida to get ready for the European spring clay season.
“We had a great week in Delray Beach in the Billie Jean King Cup and I was ready to get over here to Europe,” Gauff, the youngest competitor in the main draw of the WTA 500 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, expressed to the media on Tuesday.
“The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a week to see what I have to work on in the clay court season. Looking back on where I was last year to this. I definitely feel like I’m a much better player. When I step out on the court, the confidence is now much higher.
“It wasn’t always that way. I would get a lot of anxiety about where I was playing-wise. I think it’s just fighting those thoughts and understanding that I belong here. It’s something that I’m working on to realize I’m here for a reason and my ranking is there for a reason, and I definitely deserve that.
“Now let’s see how my first match goes.”
last 16. The World No.6 @CocoGauff wins 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3) over Veronika Kudermetova.#porschetennis #PTGP23 pic.twitter.com/pR2TnUac0x
— Porsche Tennis (@PorscheTennis) April 19, 2023
As it happened, Gauff left it all on the court during her first-round match against 13th-ranked Veronika Kudermetova of Russia Wednesday. For two hours and 45 minutes, the two Top-20 competitors put on an entertaining show for the crowd inside Porsche Arena on the fast-but-slippery red-clay surface. When the last ball was struck, a seventh-shot backhand by Kudermetova that sailed wide left, Gauff had emerged on her third match-point opportunity with a hard-fought 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3) victory. In hindsight, it could have been a straight-set win for Gauff had she not squandered a 4-1 advantage in the second set. There were shifts in momentum, but Gauff handled matters the best.
all @CocoGauff leaves it all on the court and defeats Kudermetova 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3). #PorsheTennis pic.twitter.com/WNsdOUzUkr
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) April 19, 2023
“[Veronika] started to play better and I started to play more passive. Against her, you can’t really do that,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “I expected a match like this today. I was on a hard court in the U.S. three days ago. I knew it was going to be tough for me today. I was just taking it for what it is.
“Yes, I could have won in straights, but I kind of mentally prepared myself for that happening.”
Gauff finished her first test on clay with five aces and 24 winners that helped offset her 53 unforced errors. She broke Kudermetova eight times in 10 tries, benefited from her opponent’s 80 unforced errors, and came out ahead on points 108-102.
The American No. 2 is currently without a permanent after an amicable split with Diego Moyano, her coach for the past year. Gauff’s father, Cori, is coaching her while in Europe. Next, she will face No. 24 Anastasia Potapova of Russia on Thursday. Gauff leads their overall head-to-head 2-1.
Sabalenka reaches sixth consecutive quarterfinal
World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka made a statement with her 6-2, 6-3 win over 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic Wednesday evening. The Belarusian’s 10th ace on her second match point against the World No. 12 lifted her to a sixth consecutive quarterfinal this season – and it’s the third straight year she’s reached the last eight in Stuttgart. She finished runner-up to Ashleigh Barty in 2021 and to Iga Swiatek last year. Krejcikova was making her Stuttgart main draw debut.
Making a statement. 📢@SabalenkaA puts on a dominant performance in Stuttgart to defeat Krejcikova 6-2 6-3!#PorscheTennis pic.twitter.com/r1N8hIKFM9
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) April 19, 2023
In their sixth career meeting – and fourth this season, but first on clay – the reigning Australian Open titlist Sabalenka hit 17 winners, including 10 off her backhand, and faced no break points while outpointing Krejcikova 66-45. She became the first player to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals. At the end of their one hour and 15-minute tussle, there was nothing but hugs and smiles from the two competitors.
“It was a great match and I am super happy with the win, especially against Barbora,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview after improving her 2023 win-loss record to 21-3. “It is always a tough match against her. I don’t know, it’s something about Stuttgart that makes me feel like I am at home. I hope I can keep playing at the same level or even better. The atmosphere was amazing.”
Eyes on the (Porsche) prize 🏁
Two-time @PorscheTennis finalist @SabalenkaA advances to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Krejcikova.#PorscheTennis pic.twitter.com/1Eu4gjIdwE
— wta (@WTA) April 19, 2023
Around the Porsche Arena
• Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, the 2018 Stuttgart champion, upset No. 8 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece, 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the second round against No. 23 Donna Vekic of Croatia. It was the seventh time Pliskova and Sakkari have met and the 17th-ranked Czech now leads 4-3 overall, including 2-1 on clay and 2-1 this season.
Our 2018 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix champion Karolina Pliskova defeats Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-3!#porschetennis #PTGP23 pic.twitter.com/FWUPWFe7mo
— Porsche Tennis (@PorscheTennis) April 19, 2023
• Reigning Wimbledon champion and No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan came from 1-3 down in the second set to win the final five games of her first-round match against German No. 1 Jule Niemeier. The World No. 7 Rybakina’s 7-5, 6-3 victory over the wild card from Dortmund, completed in an economical 90 minutes, advanced her to a second-round match-up against No. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil on Thursday night. Rybakina fired nine aces and hit 19 winners against the 65th-ranked Niemeier, one of three German players in the main draw.
Elena Rybakina left everything on the court. She defeats Jule Niemeier 7-5, 6-3 in a thrilling match.#porschetennis #PTGP23 pic.twitter.com/pm4ZFtYqQ9
— Porsche Tennis (@PorscheTennis) April 19, 2023
• World No. 4 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia came back from a set down against former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and won 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinal round. She will face either World No. 7 Elena Rybakina or No. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia in Friday’s quarterfinals.
The recent Charleston titlist remained unbeaten (6-0) on clay this season after her ninth ace and 34th winner overall clinched victory on her fifth match-point try. After playing two near-perfect sets – and four points from victory – the 22nd-ranked Ostapenko came unglued. Jabeur outpointed the Latvian 100-99 and took advantage of 36 unforced errors. The win leveled her career head-to-head with Ostapenko at 2-all.
Getting the job done 💪@ons_jabeur passes a tough test from Ostapenko and moves through to the quarterfinals in Stuttgart!#PorscheTennis pic.twitter.com/85W2CZ5wIp
— wta (@WTA) April 19, 2023
“Charleston was an unexpected title,” Jabeur said before the start of this week’s play. “For me, it was all about taking one step at a time. I was trying to find more motivation and finding my rhythm on the court. Everything was amazing. I did not expect to not drop a set there. …
“What’s most important at the upcoming tournaments is that I regain the game I know I can play. The results will follow. I will try not to put pressure on defending points.”
Wednesday’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix results
Thursday’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix order of play
By the numbers
Since losing her opening round match in Stuttgart to Daria Kasatkina last year, Coco Gauff has won 18 out of 20 opening round matches.
“Quotable …”
“Obviously, I would like to defend my title. Of course, all of us want to win the tournament. It doesn’t really matter what happened last year because it’s a totally different story. Stuttgart is a special one for me because I have really nice memories from last year. It’s the first tournament on clay so for sure I would love to play well. I also know that I might be a bit rusty because I’m coming back from injury. So, I’m keeping my expectations low.”
– World No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland, who is the defending Porsche Tennis Grand Prix champion and this year’s top seed, during an all-access hour with tournament media on Wednesday.
