Coming into the Paris Olympic Games, Coco Gauff was hugely confident of a good show in the mega-event. She was one of the few players who opted to play in all three formats, singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles events. This gave Gauff ample opportunity to achieve a podium finish. However, it wasn’t meant to be as the American sensation fell short in each of the events in her maiden appearance at the Olympic Games. On the contrary, Taylor Fritz avoided the same embarrassment as Gauff suffered with her defeats.

Gauff and Fritz were among the six players who participated in all the formats in Paris. Apart from them, only Stefanos Tsitsipas, Tomas Machac, Katerina Siniakova, and Maria Sakkari participated in all the events. Earlier today, Fritz, along with Tommy Paul, got the better of Machac and Adam Pavlasek to win the bronze medal. With this, he saved himself from the embarrassment of playing in all the formats but returning home empty-handed as Gauff, Sakkari, and Tsitsipas did.

Additionally, Fritz also salvaged some American pride as the tennis contingent of the United States had returned empty-handed from Tokyo. This time around, they won a couple of medals, a silver, and a bronze, albeit both in men’s doubles. Moreover, it was Fritz’s maiden medal at the Olympics, something which he had been dreaming of for a long time.

This was also one of the reasons why he opted to play in all three events as he wanted to maximize his chances of winning a medal. After their win today, Fritz expressed a sense of satisfaction about achieving a podium finish in the dying stages of the tournament.

Taylor Fritz elated after overcoming semifinals heartbreak

Yesterday, the American team of Fritz and Paul went down tamely against the eventual champions, Matthew Ebden and John Peers. The Australian duo dominated the match to complete a straight-set win over Fritz and Paul and end their hopes of winning a gold medal. However, the American duo came back strongly today to end their campaign on a positive note with a third-place finish.

Asked about what made him participate in all three events, Fritz said, “I wanted the experience but there was also a reason why I put myself through three events: I wanted to bring home a medal. After how we felt yesterday after that loss, it’s great to come back and get it done, so we won’t be leaving here empty-handed.”

On the contrary, Gauff’s campaign ended on a disappointing note as she couldn’t go beyond the quarterfinals in each of the three events. “At the end of the day, it’s over. I’ll try to take the positive out of it and do better next time,” Gauff said as her Paris dream ended in a heartbreaking fashion. However, it certainly won’t be Gauff’s last shot at an Olympic medal and many more editions of the mega-event await the American sensation.