Coco Gauff is drawing inspiration from Elina Svitolina as the 19-year-old hopes that she can also one day have a baby and then make a strong post-pregnancy comeback, though not anytime soon.
Gauff, the top-seeded player in Auckland, secured back-to-back titles at the tournament after beating 6-7 (4) 6-3 6-3 in the final. Had 29-year-old Svitolina won, it would have been her second title since returning to tennis last April.Â
After being sidelined for 13 months, it didn’t take long before former world No. 3 Svitolina started playing her best again. Since returning, Svitolina has been to two finals and she also made her first Wimbledon semifinal. Svitolina also enjoyed a strong French Open run just after returning as she was a quarterfinalist at Roland Garros last year.Â
“I’d like to congratulate Elina and your team. What you do, being a mom, coming back so fast at such a high level is inspiring… Hopefully, not any time soon (laughs), I’ll be able to do it like you did,” Gauff said after the Auckland final.
Elina Svitolina and Coco Gauff© Getty Images Sport – Hannah Peters
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Gauff’s comeback win over Svitolina lands her second Auckland title
A bit surprisingly, Gauff lost the first set despite having the lead and being very close to winning the opener. In the first set, Gauff was twice up by a break – she even served for the opener at 5-4 and had two consecutive set points. But Gauff failed to convert on her chances as Svitolina forced a tie-break, in which she took a 6-2 before realizing her third set point to win the opener.
After losing the first set, Gauff stormed back in the second set as two breaks of serve gave the American a comfortable 5-2 lead. Svitolina managed to get one break back in the eighth game but Gauff’s third break of the set in the ninth game sealed the set for the American.
Coco Gauff© Getty Images Sport – Hannah Peters
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