Cincy loss a stroke of fortune for Gauff

Coco Gauff called last week’s opening loss as Cincinnati holder a “blessing in disguise” which allowed her to train full-tilt for her US Open title defence starting on Monday.

“Obviously I wanted to go into Cincinnati and win, but I had more realistic things in my head just coming from the Olympics and switching surfaces so fast,” she said on Friday during the Open buildup in New York.

“The main focus was trying to be as ready as possible for here. I feel like it was a blessing in disguise I lost so early, because I was able to actually train, which I hadn’t been able to. 

“I do my best results when I come off a training block. I was able to train for a good week and a half and obviously still have a couple more days to do that.

Gauf has put behind her early exits in Cincy as well as a similar fate a week earlier in Toronto when she exited as top seed in Canada.

“During Cincinnati I wasn’t having great practices, in Toronto I wasn’t having great practices.

“Here I’m having great practices; it does give you more confidence.”