Nineteen-year-old "Coco" Gauff almost looked like a doyenne on Saturday June 3 on the Suzanne-Lenglen court, compared to her third-round opponent, Mirra Andreeva, three years her junior. The American was already playing her fifth Roland-Garros when the Russian, out of qualifying, made her first appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. At 16, the 143rd in the world – still 312th less than two months ago – even had her baptism on a big court, relegated so far to the annexes.
The "shock of youth" lasted only one set: the sixth player in the world showed the gap that still separates the two players, sending the new nugget of the women's circuit back to her dear studies, defeated in three sets (6- 7, 6-1, 6-1). But the lesson of maturity given by the American was not only sporting, it was also the attitude. Throughout the match, the serenity displayed by Gauff, including when she gave up the first set, contrasted with the ostensible nervousness of Andreeva, who came very close to being sent back to the locker room earlier.
On a second set point missed in the decisive game, the Russian sent a ball of rage in the front rows of the Lenglen public. A gesture that could have - should? – cost him an elimination, but the chair umpire was lenient with the teenager, who got off with a warning, before snatching the set. She did not receive a second when she threw her racquet to the ground at the start of the second set, in another fit of frustration.
"With great power comes great responsibility"
Since her arrival in Paris, the prodigy who has been training in France since the beginning of 2022 in the academy of Jean-René Lisnard (former 84th in the world), in Cannes, had so far shown a disarming maturity: five matches (including three in qualifications) without dropping a single set. By her own admission, the Frenchwoman Diane Parry had been "walked over the whole match", during her second round against the world number one junior, Thursday (6-1, 6-2). "Everything is mature about her, her mentality, her behavior, her game, it's extremely solid," said the 20-year-old right-hander on one-handed backhand at the time.
On Saturday, the Russian finally showed all the way she still has to go to be as exemplary as Cori Gauff, a model in this field. After her May 30 first-round victory over Spain's Rebeka Masarova, the American named Spiderman as her favorite hero.
"His motto is, 'With great power comes great responsibility.' What are your powers and responsibilities? asked a journalist after his second round. "For the powers, on the pitch, I would say my mentality, it's something I've had since very young," she replied. “For the responsibilities… Do my best on the court? Outside, I am quite aware of my place in sport and the media and I don't take it for granted. And it is because I consider my privileged position that I feel the responsibility to make my voice heard on all these causes, "added the young woman, who was notably involved against racism and police violence after the death. of George Floyd.
Unhappy finalist last year against the Polish Iga Swiatek, Cori Gauff has long ruminated on this match where she never existed (6-1, 6-3). "For a week or two, I told myself that I couldn't have done worse," she said on Tuesday. I am the first to criticize myself. I had to learn to talk about myself in a more positive way and I continue to work on that today. Now I force myself to stop beating myself up every time I lose. »
Patrick Mouratoglou and his two foals
Saturday, facing Andreeva, she delivered a master class in the matter, without ever panicking the three times she conceded her face-off at the start of the match, even serving at 5-4 for the victory of the first set, which her youngest tore on the wire in the tie-break. Every time she got herself out of a tight spot, the American clenched her fist with angry come ons when her opponent seemed to throw in the towel as soon as Gauff broke her early in the second set. The eldest was enterprising until the end, raising her level of play as the match progressed.
In her box, Patrick Mouratoglou, who advises her during this fortnight, no doubt thought that her presence in the box was not unrelated to the reversal of the brand. The former mentor of Serena Williams rushed from the Philippe-Chatrier court as soon as the match of his second foal, the Dane Holger Rune, finished - qualified for the eighth after his victory against the Argentinian Genaro Alberto Olivieri (6-4, 6- 1, 6-3).
Asked at a press conference about her opponent's guilty gesture towards the public, Gauff did not fire red balls at Andreeva: "Of course, you're not supposed to swing a ball in the direction of the public, but you can't remember that. Maybe not, I broke a racket on the court here in my quarter-final loss in 2021. I'm not going to blame her for her age, tennis is a frustrating sport, it's just the gesture of an athlete who feels frustration, it happens. At Gauff, youth does not preclude wisdom.
