Coco Gauff firmly dispels theory after losing | Sports News

Coco Gauff played down fears she struggles in the Middle East after losing back-to-back games in Qatar and Dubai.

Gauff has endured a frustrating season thus far. After losing to Paula Badosa in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, the 20-year-old began in the round of 32 but crashed out of the Qatar Open by losing to Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in straight sets, falling 6-2, 7-5.

Gauff then fell 6-4, 7-5 to McCartney Kessler in Dubai, despite being the No. 3 seed. She is looking to get back to form at Indian Wells in California, and recently reflected on losing back-to-back games in the Middle East, which has proved to be a frustrating region for her across her young career.

“Everyone makes a bigger deal than what it is,” Gauff said. “I lost 2 matches… I’ll lose more matches back to back. It’s going to happen.”

When asked how she plans to return to form, Gauff stayed diplomatic and alluded to the fact that the location has little impact. She said: “Yeah, for me, I don’t know, everybody makes a bigger deal than what it is… I lost two matches. I’ll lose more matches back to back, it’s going to happen.

“Everyone is, like, ‘Oh, she’s sinking.’ Okay, we’ve been through this. I’ll pick it back up. To me, for me, I guess it feels like a month but it’s just two tournaments, and at this calendar, I have so many other opportunities, and I can’t win every match.

“Yeah, it is a tough part of the swing for me, just I think mainly because the conditions I don’t think are in my favor.

“But at the end of the day, like, yeah, I was upset that I lost, but it’s a loss, like, it’s going to happen again. I’m going to lose back-to-back again. Hopefully it doesn’t happen too many times in my career.

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“But yeah, it’s just one of those things that you just move on and get better. You know, the results will come. It’s, you know, just normal, I think. I’m only 20 years old, going to be 21 next week.

“It would be kind of silly for me to think it won’t happen to me again if I’m going to be out here hopefully at least 10 more years.”

Gauff is the No. 3 seed at Indian Wells and will play in her first-round contest on Friday, March 7. She could face fellow former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu.