Tennis News: Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz and Gael Monfils
- Coco Gauff does something highly unusual for her
- Carlos Alcaraz gets mad because of Gael Monfils.
By Lee Vowell
Coco Gauff is not doing well. She has struggled over the last several tournaments in a way she hasn't in over a year. The issues have come at events that she won last year, though, so she should have expected to play well again at the Cincinnati Open, Canadian Open, and, hopefully, the US Open. In the first two, she was bounced out before the quarterfinals.
Potentially even more unusual, Gauff skipped the press conference after her loss in Cincinnati. She is normally one of the more poised players in tennis and seems to keep her cool even when a line call goes against her. She might complain, sure, but she does not become bombastic like John McEnroe or Andrey Rublev might have.
Still, intentionally missing the press conference means she is peeved, and likely mostly at herself. She might not know what is happening with her form and how to correct the issues. For someone who has won a Grand Slam and reached No. 2 on the tour, this must be incredibly frustrating.
Coco Gauff skips an event and Carlos Alcaraz reacts to his loss to Gael Monfils
Gauff did speak to the Cincinnati Open media staff - basically, she has to or risk potential fines - and she answered questions in the short scrum succinctly before moving on. This included praising her opponent before answering a question about what her next step would be. She said, "To go home and try to reset."
In another unusual situation, Carlos Alcaraz was bounced out of the Cincinnati Open in his first match as he lost to Gael Monfils in three sets. At one point, Alcaraz was so frustrated by his play that he slammed his racket repeatedly on the court. The Spaniard does not slam his racket on courts.
Next. Jessica Pegula talks split with Coco Gauff. Jessica Pegula talks split with Coco Gauff. dark
In his post-match press conference, Alcaraz said the match was the "worst match that I have ever played in (his) career." That may be true, but he short have given a bit more credit to Monfils. The Frenchman played well enough to win and take advantage of Alcaraz's mistakes.
The Spaniard will now not move up to No. 2 on the ATP. He could have passed Novak Djokovic with a decent showing at the event. In fact, should Alexander Zverev go on to win in Cincinnati, the German could overtake Alcaraz in the rankings and move up to No. 2 himself.
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