“I was aggressive and played with margin. Maybe it wasn’t her best level.” Coco Gauff oozed confidence after besting six-time slam queen Iga Swiatek earlier this season in Madrid. While the former World No. 1 has dominated the American in most of their clashes, the present No. 2 proved better this season. And she replicated a similar performance against World No. 1 and arch rival Aryna Sabalenka during the epic French Open final at Court Philippe-Chatrier. Gauff forced her to commit 70 unforced errors in that clash on clay before lifting her second major title. But this dominance isn’t the same against the lower-ranked opponents, and Gauff knows it, too…

This season, Gauff has been faltering against unseeded players than the top 10 or top 20. For example, her journey following the Roland Garros victory in June. When the grass swing began for the American in Berlin, things became weirdly tough for her. China’s Xinyu Wang, who was then ranked 49th, stunned her in the opening match in straight sets. Then at Wimbledon, Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska (ranked No. 42) edged out Gauff in one of the biggest upsets of the grass major this season. “I was really on fire,” said Yastremska about her performance against the two-time slam champion. And as if this heartbreak wasn’t enough! Coco Gauff lost yet another battle to an unseeded player earlier this month.

Canada’s teenage sensation, Victoria Mboko, beat the American in straight sets at the Canadian Open in the R16. During the WTA 1000 tournament, Mboko was ranked 85th in the world. After ousting the World No. 2, she simply said, “I don’t even know what to say still,” while adding, “I was kind of shocked about it all.”

Now, this week, Gauff’s shown a return to form, qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open. After her win over Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti (World No. 61), the American was asked about preparing against unseeded opponents. “How do you keep your mindset that you have to take every match like you are playing a top seed?” one reporter asked her in Round 4 Press Conference of the Cincinnati Open. And her response was simple yet logical.

“Honestly, I think it’s sometimes harder when you’re playing people who are unseeded because they’re going in that match with nothing to lose and everything to gain… I don’t pay attention to rankings or anything like that because at the end of the day, everybody is capable of winning regardless of the ranking or anything. Especially if you look at the last few tournaments, you definitely see that,” replied Coco.

The 2024 WTA Finals winner further explained, “So every match, I’m always on guard and ready, and sometimes I, to be honest, get more relaxed playing a top seed. Just because you expect them to play great tennis. So I don’t know, something about knowing that if you lose then it’s because they are playing great tennis. And sometimes when playing an unranked person, they can start off, like, not playing so well. And then all of a sudden, just be playing like top five, top ten because they’re loose and relaxed.”

While she’s managed to stay afloat in Cincinnati, other seeded names like Jessica Pegula, Jelena Ostapenko, and Emma Navarro have been eliminated. And all of them faced exits at the hands of lower-ranked opponents. For Gauff, however, it’s “more of a mental thing than ranking thing.” 

At the moment, her target is clear: Winning “the big trophy.” And she’s made it evident as well ahead of her next battle.

Coco Gauff looks to leave a lasting impression in Cincinnati

Despite her recent struggles in Wimbledon and then Montreal, Coco Gauff is determined to do better. Her ongoing form at the 1000-level tournament is clear proof of her efforts. Being a former Cincinnati queen (in 2023), she knows making a deep run isn’t enough to gain confidence going into the bigger events. The US Open is her next stop in the coming week.

“For me, it’s trying to forget the losses, but more so remembering how I lost. With the wins, I try to celebrate myself a little bit. But I’m very much a perfectionist type of person, so it’s really nothing satisfying until you’re holding the big trophy,” reported Cincinnati Open’s website on August 14.

She will try to replicate her form from two years ago. Back then, she bested Karolina Muchova in the summit clash to win the Cincinnati Open. But to repeat that, she will have to reach the final. There’s still the quarterfinal hurdle she needs to clear. Gauff will face a familiar opponent in Italy’s Jasmine Paolini on Friday. Both are tied 2-2 in the H2H tally at the moment.

In their last meeting, Paolini emerged victorious when she beat the American in the Italian Open final, back in May. But now, do you think Gauff will take her sweet revenge and move one step closer to her second finale in Cincinnati?