It has been kind of draining, says Gauff
BEIJING American tennis star Coco Gauff crashed out of the China Open after suffering a tough straight-sets defeat against Belgium's Elise Mertens. The third seed lost 6-3, 6-3 in the round of 16, wrapping up a very difficult and emotional week for the young champion. Gauff admitted to reporters after the match that the previous couple of days had felt extremely draining both mentally and physically. Just a short time ago, the talented 22-year-old revealed she had faced a massive wave of nasty online abuse. Following a controversial match where a replayed point sparked an intense internet backlash, she received an unbelievable amount of hateful messages on social media. When asked how she coped with the noise over the last thirty-hours, Gauff kept it honest. She explained that she simply turned off her phone and tried to move on because there was nothing else she could do to fix it. The heavy emotional toll clearly carried over onto the tennis court. Even though Gauff had beaten Mertens in all five of their previous encounters, she struggled to find any rhythm this time. Her game unravelled quickly as she committed a staggering thirty-four unforced errors, including eight costly double faults, during their 78-minute battle. At one point while trailing in the second set, a visibly exhausted Gauff told her coaching team that she had zero energy left and felt like she might pass out right there on the court. Meanwhile, Mertens played a very smart match. She capitalized on every big point and kept the pressure high, securing a brilliant victory to reach her first-ever quarter-final in Beijing. After the match, a delighted Mertens happily dedicated her big win to her partner for his upcoming birthday. Reflecting on her performance, Gauff kept her chin up and gave credit where it was due. She admitted she did not play well or move the way she wanted to, while praising her opponent for stepping up. Gauff now plans to take a well-deserved break to rest and recover away from the screens.
