Coco Gauff vs Iga

fecund345

fecund345

Semi-Pro
Coco Gauff beat Iga by using Brad's " 3/4 pace -heavy topspin" technique and it worked. Iga had to hit her grounds strokes shoulder high and it upset her timing. The very next time they met, Iga took most of Coco's balls on the rise and dominated her.
Coco needs to take every ball on the rise against Iga and not retreat. Whether she stays up there and gets passed or retreats and gets dominated by Iga's forward moving target, she is going to lose the point. At least the aggressive foward movement has an element of hope.
 
Considering both use a western, the difference in spin is noticeable.

I don't really recommend such an extreme grip, but if you are going to use it at least abuse the extra topspin you can get for more effectiveness on clay.

That is what is Swiatek do, aggressive and consistent shots at the same time.
 
ND-13 said:
That one match Coco won , she barely did in 3 and almost lost the break twice.

I think this rivalry will end up like 30-3 or something . Roddick will feel better seeing that
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Looks that way. The win last year for Gauff is looking more and more like an anomaly with every meeting.
 
Jonesy said:
Considering both use a western, the difference in spin is noticeable.

I don't really recommend such an extreme grip, but if you are going to use it at least abuse the extra topspin you can get for more effectiveness on clay.

That is what is Swiatek do, aggressive and consistent shots at the same time.
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I think she should take forehand lessons from Grigor D and abandon the extreme grip forehand altogether.
 
I was watching Coco/Iga on TC and those commentators were rooting for Coco. Iga is a much better player with unbelievable footwork. Coco was lucky to beat Iga in Cinci last year. I think Iga is living rent free in Coco's head.
 
ND-13 said:
Also in all of her losses (1-10) , Coco didn’t even win a single set.
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No tips from her bestie Naomi. Naomi had that match in her hands and choked it away like she used to in her earlier years.
Coco's chances are better on a hc against Iga as she did last summer.
 
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bobleenov1963 said:
I was watching Coco/Iga on TC and those commentators were rooting for Coco. Iga is a much better player with unbelievable footwork. Coco was lucky to beat Iga in Cinci last year. I think Iga is living rent free in Coco's head.
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They need a Coco. They need another "Williams". It is what it is. Tennis is not exciting, for the general audience without a character, a story. Tennis, specially in the US, needs a McEnroe, a Connors, an Agassi, a Seles, Capriatti, Williamses...

Coco is the desired child, but shes not gonna cut it, just like Roddick.

And a Swiatek is just dull, boring, no drama, no horrible backstory, just like Barty was, or Sampras...

TC needs to let Coco go, do whatever it is shes gonna do (maybe a couple more slams, or at least one more?) but quit expecting her to be the next big thing in W tennis.
 
ND-13 said:
That one match Coco won , she barely did in 3 and almost lost the break twice.

I think this rivalry will end up like 30-3 or something . Roddick will feel better seeing that
Click to expand...

Sadly for Coco, the context of this match was particular.
- Fastest hard courts (Cincinnat). Swiatek's worst surface.
- Extreme heat (38°C). Coco adores heat, she isn't even hiding it.
- Negative phase for Swiatek between RG2023 and the asiatic swing in October (0 final)

Other matches were not close, unfortunately. This is a very one-sided rivalry.
 
fecund345 said:
Coco Gauff beat Iga by using Brad's " 3/4 pace -heavy topspin" technique and it worked. Iga had to hit her grounds strokes shoulder high and it upset her timing. The very next time they met, Iga took most of Coco's balls on the rise and dominated her.
Coco needs to take every ball on the rise against Iga and not retreat. Whether she stays up there and gets passed or retreats and gets dominated by Iga's forward moving target, she is going to lose the point. At least the aggressive foward movement has an element of hope.
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I mean, she was being aggressive today. That's why she hit so many unforced errors. Knowing the gameplan is easy. Executing it is something else.
 
ibbi said:
I mean, she was being aggressive today. That's why she hit so many unforced errors. Knowing the gameplan is easy. Executing it is something else.
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Coco was very inconsistent today with too many unforced errors. She looks like a broken record when she played against Iga. Gauff would not have won the US Open had Ostapenko knocked out Iga.

The only player that would give Iga trouble is Jelena Ostapenko.
 
bobleenov1963 said:
Coco was very inconsistent today with too many unforced errors. She looks like a broken record when she played against Iga. Gauff would not have won the US Open had Ostapenko knocked out Iga.

The only player that would give Iga trouble is Jelena Ostapenko.
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Ostapenko does indeed own Iga, but the head to head record is a little overblown. She never played her on clay. Rybakina also leads their head to head, and she's done her on clay too.

Some people believe Iga actually was injured last year during their match in Rome, some people think she tucked her tail between her legs and ran away. Whatever you believe, they played again in Stuttgart this year, and guess who won?
 
bobleenov1963 said:
1-11 H2H against Iga with five losses on hard court and six on clay. Sure, but we all can dream, right?
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Coco had an awful forehand a few years ago, and has changed and improved it so she doesn’t have to resort to slicing anymore. It’s logical to expect her record against the best player in the world might improve after she has another year or two of reps with the new forehand.

Federer started out 0-5 H2H vs. Nalbandian.

Coco will be #1.
 
bobleenov1963 said:
1-11 H2H against Iga with five losses on hard court and six on clay. Sure, but we all can dream, right?
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All 11 of her defeats have come in straights sets. They aren't exactly closely contested matches either, so whilst Gauff might get better over the next few years, she'll lose more than she wins. This looks like a match-up problem for Gauff more than anything.
 
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travlerajm said:
Coco had an awful forehand a few years ago, and has changed and improved it so she doesn’t have to resort to slicing anymore. It’s logical to expect her record against the best player in the world might improve after she has another year or two of reps with the new forehand.

Federer started out 0-5 H2H vs. Nalbandian.

Coco will be #1.
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Coco started out 0-6 against Iga, won one then lost the last five. All 11 defeats were in straight sets, not competitive at all.

Yes, Coco will get better in the next year or two but Iga will also get better as well. That makes it a wash. Iga footwork and high tennis IQ gives her the edge over Coco. Ostapenko is probably the only one that has an edge over Iga because Jelena goes for the line ALL the times.
 
bobleenov1963 said:
Coco started out 0-6 against Iga, won one then lost the last five. All 11 defeats were in straight sets, not competitive at all.

Yes, Coco will get better in the next year or two but Iga will also get better as well. That makes it a wash. Iga footwork and high tennis IQ gives her the edge over Coco. Ostapenko is probably the only one that has an edge over Iga because Jelena goes for the line ALL the times.
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Coco will surpass Iga in the rankings by 2026. The last does not always predict the future.
 
ibbi said:
Ostapenko does indeed own Iga, but the head to head record is a little overblown. She never played her on clay. Rybakina also leads their head to head, and she's done her on clay too.

Some people believe Iga actually was injured last year during their match in Rome, some people think she tucked her tail between her legs and ran away. Whatever you believe, they played again in Stuttgart this year, and guess who won?
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I don't know. Swiatek was up 6-2 4-2 in Rome. All of a sudden she falls and calls the doctor, takes a medical time out. 1h later the score is 2-6 7-6 4-2 and Swiatek withdraws. I don't think she was faking it. It was her only withdrawal as far as I can remember. If she was used to withdraw when she is starting to lose, I'd have doubts but that's clearly not the case.

Stuttgart was one of the best matches of the year. Rybakina played out of her mind that day. But Indoors clay isn't exactly the same as Rome and RG's clay. Conditions are perfect for Rybakina, fast, no wind and no sun. I wish to watch more matches between them in the future. It's one of the best, most unpredictable matchup on the WTA tour right now.
 
travlerajm said:
Coco had an awful forehand a few years ago, and has changed and improved it so she doesn’t have to resort to slicing anymore. It’s logical to expect her record against the best player in the world might improve after she has another year or two of reps with the new forehand.

Federer started out 0-5 H2H vs. Nalbandian.

Coco will be #1.
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What new forehand ?? It’s still same, nothing has changed.
Did Roddick ever improve versus Federer?? The flaw in your Federer/Nalbandian comparison is that Roger was competitive in all but one of those first five matches he lost. Coco is not competitive with Iga.
I love the Coco people that think Iga is going somewhere, she’s not. I’ve said it before the gap between these two is miles.
 
bobleenov1963 said:
I was watching Coco/Iga on TC and those commentators were rooting for Coco. Iga is a much better player with unbelievable footwork. Coco was lucky to beat Iga in Cinci last year. I think Iga is living rent free in Coco's head.
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Iga is a much better player on clay. The matchup is brutal since Coco is unable to defend against Iga's power. I'll also say that Coco was choking most of the match. She came out of it impressively after the 15 all dispute and argument with the empire that literally had her in tears as she went back to return; she then went up 3-1 in the 2nd. A lot of this is mental.

Iga obviously is a better player right now, but Coco has been improving a lot and I don't doubt will improve quite a bit more. It will be hard for her to overcome the matchup, but at the end of it all years from now she may end up Iga's better since Iga has not handled the Australian Open or Wimbledon well. Looking forward to both playing Wimbledon. Coco is an accomplished doubles player so I'm hoping she finally goes deep at Wimby. Coco
 
Meles said:
Iga is a much better player on clay. The matchup is brutal since Coco is unable to defend against Iga's power. I'll also say that Coco was choking most of the match. She came out of it impressively after the 15 all dispute and argument with the empire that literally had her in tears as she went back to return; she then went up 3-1 in the 2nd. A lot of this is mental.

Iga obviously is a better player right now, but Coco has been improving a lot and I don't doubt will improve quite a bit more. It will be hard for her to overcome the matchup, but at the end of it all years from now she may end up Iga's better since Iga has not handled the Australian Open or Wimbledon well. Looking forward to both playing Wimbledon. Coco is an accomplished doubles player so I'm hoping she finally goes deep at Wimby. Coco
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This is so blatantly FALSE. Iga made it to the AO SF in 2022. Coco also made it to AO SF in '24. That makes it a wash. As far a Wimbledon goes, Iga made it to the 4R in '21 and QF in '23, while Coco made it to the 4R in '19 and again in '23. Iga has done better at W than Coco at this point. In the meantime, Coco is still 1-11 against Iga , all those losses were in straight sets, including THREE bagel sets :-D
 
bobleenov1963 said:
This is so blatantly FALSE. Iga made it to the AO SF in 2022. Coco also made it to AO SF in '24. That makes it a wash. As far a Wimbledon goes, Iga made it to the 4R in '21 and QF in '23, while Coco made it to the 4R in '19 and again in '23. Iga has done better at W than Coco at this point. In the meantime, Coco is still 1-11 against Iga , all those losses were in straight sets, including THREE bagel sets :-D
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Coco is youngerer and now we have another data point. Iga confirms she is horrible on grass in 2024 and Coco had the better Wimby run (but not by much.) There is a three year age difference so what you're doing is BLATANTLY FALSE since Iga QF in 2023 would not even be in the comparison. You're basically claiming Mats Wilander (5 slams) is better than Carlos Alcaraz (4 slams).:-D
 
bobleenov1963 said:
Coco started out 0-6 against Iga, won one then lost the last five. All 11 defeats were in straight sets, not competitive at all.

Yes, Coco will get better in the next year or two but Iga will also get better as well. That makes it a wash. Iga footwork and high tennis IQ gives her the edge over Coco. Ostapenko is probably the only one that has an edge over Iga because Jelena goes for the line ALL the times.
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2 straight wins for Gauff, both in straights. Not too shabby.


 
I said elsewhere that Gauff achieving so much at such a young age in terms of big titles and lofty rankings, despite having clear technical areas that she needed to work on and improve, was a positive and encouraging thing. It indicated that she was already well on the right track, but also had clear room for future improvement.

It has never made sense to me to hold her to what the likes of McEnroe, Evert, ESPN etc. were predicting for her back in 2019 when she was 15.

It stood out to me that Swiatek lacked the patience to hit through her defence yesterday, which had not been an issue during many of their previous matches. The effectiveness of Gauff's forehand including on the run, of course made things far more difficult for Swiatek.
 
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I didn't watch the match, just the quick highlight reel. It appeared (from that short sample) that Coco was really hitting her FH well, including some great running forehands. She already has a great backhand, a strong return, probably the best court coverage, and a fast serve. With even a slightly above average forehand, and cutting down on DFs, she can beat anyone.
 
bobleenov1963 said:
Coco started out 0-6 against Iga, won one then lost the last five. All 11 defeats were in straight sets, not competitive at all.

Yes, Coco will get better in the next year or two but Iga will also get better as well. That makes it a wash. Iga footwork and high tennis IQ gives her the edge over Coco. Ostapenko is probably the only one that has an edge over Iga because Jelena goes for the line ALL the times.
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Coco just passed Iga to be #2, a new career high. This is the first time in her career that she's ranked higher than Iga. What a difference 12 months makes....
 
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