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Coco Gauff is confident she can make a deep run at this year's French Open. According to Gauff, her recent experiences spanning Madrid and Rome have added to her confidence, even though she finished as the runner-up in both the Spanish and the Italian capitals.
At the beginning of May, the 21-year-old suffered a 3-6, 6-7(3) loss to Aryna Sabalenka in the women's singles final of the Madrid Open. A similar fate awaited her on Saturday, May 17 at the Italian Open, where she was defeated 6-4, 6-2 by home favorite Jasmine Paolini at the last hurdle.
Speaking at a press conference in the aftermath of her loss to the Italian, Coco Gauff hoped she'll get third time lucky at Roland Garros following her disappointments in Madrid and Rome. Main draw matches of the 2025 French Open are set to begin on Sunday, May 25.
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"Yeah, I think it's both confidence and motivation to do better. Hopefully I can get to the final in Roland Garros and maybe the 'third time is a charm' thing is a real thing. That's looking so far ahead," Gauff said.
She went on to laud her rivals Aryna Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini, who defeated her in the finals of the Madrid Open and the Italian Open respectively. The American also acknowledged the prevalent flaws in her own game that she'd need to work on and improve, having made 55 unforced errors against Paolini.
"Overall I lost to two quality opponents, Aryna in Madrid and Jasmine here. So yeah, I think I have a lot to improve, a lot that I can work on," the nine-time WTA Tour-level singles titlist added.
However, according to Gauff, the fact that she reached the finals in Madrid and Rome despite having a flawed game makes her feel confident about her chances at Roland Garros.
"I made the final with those errors. Made the final maybe not playing my best tennis. It just gives me confidence if I can find that good form heading into Roland Garros, I can do well there," Coco Gauff concluded.
Despite having to settle for second-best in both Madrid and Rome, Gauff will head into the French Open on a high as far as her WTA Tour ranking is concerned.
Coco Gauff set to be No. 2 seed in women's singles main draw at French Open 2025 after ranking leap with final runs in Madrid and Rome
Ahead of the Madrid Open, Coco Gauff was ranked at No. 4, and her runner-up finish in the Spanish capital helped her climb to third. With another run to the final shortly after in Rome, combined with rival Iga Swiatek's early exit from the claycourt event's WTA 1000 tournament, the American is now set to officially become No. 2 once the new rankings are published.
As far as her French Open seeding goes, Gauff is slated to be the No. 2 seed in the women's singles main draw at the prestigious claycourt Major. This is likely to give her an edge in terms of the quality of opponents she faces in the Grand Slam's early rounds. Also, it would help her avoid reigning No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka until the final at Roland Garros.
Gauff's best finish at the French Open came in 2022, when she finished runner-up to Swiatek.
