While the evidence may suggest otherwise this week in Auckland – where she has hardly been pushed in her run to the last four – it’s not the way she feels.
There is nevercomplacency – and always things to work on – even if the world No 3 has an unmistakable aura, the kind of presence that can intimidate opponents, in the same way that Serena Williams used to for so many years.
The world No 43 Gracheva is no slouch – she beat three top-10 players last year and made a WTA final – but couldn’t find any answers. The Frenchwoman couldn’t deal with the power and pace of Gauff and progressively unravelled.
It continued a pattern here – as the 19-year-old has spent an average of 68 minutes on court and hasn’t come close to losing a set – but she is unperturbed.
“Every day I come out to play, obviously the scoreline says otherwise but at the same time it’s a professional level, it’s tough enough for me and I just played good,” Gauff said of her quarter-final. “I don’t want to sit here and say it is too easy, it’s not.”
But Gauff rarely has bad days. She has always had the weapons – which have developed every year since her tour debut as a 14-year-old – but has refined her mental approach over the past 12 months, which is a scary prospect for future opponents.
“I’m a lot smarter of a player, I feel like I know what level I can bring, know how to play and manage it,” said Gauff. “Obviously every match isn’t going to go my way but I am making smarter decisions mentally on the court with emotions and everything.”
She is also more relaxed. Gauff has always had a balanced approach – helped by her family values – but has become better at managing expectations and pressure.
“I am having fun, not putting so much pressure on myself,” said Gauff. “I’m No 1 seed and ranked quite a bit higher than some of the girls I am playing so far, sometimes you can go into that and put yourself under pressure.”
Coco Gauff in action against Varvara Gracheva. Photo / Hayden Woodward
It also helps when you are serving bombs. Gauff was imperious from the line on Friday, landing 72 per cent of first serves including five aces, and regularly topped 200km/h, a level only reached by the Williams sisters here among female players.
“I’ve been working on it a lot, when it is on it is a huge weapon for me and I have been trying to make it consistent,” said Gauff. “[Friday] was about as consistent as you can get, considering how big I was going for it, obviously if I want to make more I will slow it down.”
For the first time this week, the weather interrupted the action on Friday, with a short rain delay just after the warmup. Dark clouds threatened again towards the end of the second set but – just like in last year’s final – Gauff’s timing seemed impeccable as she wrapped up the match just before another shower.
“I felt like it was going to rain again but I don’t think that controlled my play,” said Gauff. “I’m happy that I was able to finish that game and it rained when we shook hands. It is in the back of your mind but also it is not in your control how fast the match goes.”
Gauff faces compatriot Emma Navarro in Saturday’s semifinal after the third seed eliminated Croatia’s Petra Martic 6-4 6-3. The American pair go back a long way, first facing each other in a junior competition when Gauff was 12 and Navarro three years her senior.
“I used to always play up,” said Gauff. “I don’t remember who won but she was always a great player. Sometimes you just have that feeling with girls that you are going to play them your whole life and she was one of them.”
The pair practised together earlier this week and the world No 32 Navarro wasn’t afraid to admit that Gauff was a daunting opponent, especially in this form.
“She’s an insane athlete,” said Navarro. “She covers the court super well and she is really solid in her whole game. There’s not really any holes in her game because she does everything really well.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns.
