World No 4 Cori Gauff acknowledged that the WTA Finals is probably the strongest possible tournament and underlined that you have to be at your best right from the start if you want to have success. Gauff, 18, made her WTA Finals debut this week in Fort Worth, Texas.
After suffering a defeat to Caroline Garcia in her group stage opener, Gauff also picked up a 7-6 (6) 6-3 loss to Daria Kasatkina in her following match. Gauff, who is now 0-2, has lost her chances of qualifying for the WTA Finals semifinal.
“Obviously, when you’re starting off the tournament, you have a tough match opponent right away. But regarding the format and everything, it doesn’t feel too different. But yeah, definitely the level is a lot harder right off the bat,” Gauff told WTA Insider.
How Gauff lost to Kasatkina?
In the very first game of the match, Gauff lost her service game. Down by a break, Gauff responded strongly as she claimed back-to-back breaks to win four games in a row and open a 4-1 lead.
Then, Kasatkina went on a run as she broke Gauff in the seventh and 11th games to overturn the deficit and take a 6-5 lead. In the 12th game – when Kasatkina was serving for the first set – Gauff saved a set point to force a tie-break.
After saving a set point, Gauff started the tie-break with a 3-0 lead. Just when it seemed that the whole momentum shifted on Gauff’s way, Kasatkina stormed back as she realized her third set point to win a tight opener.
After winning a tight first set, Kasatkina served out the opening game of the second set. Then, five breaks of serve were seen in the next five games. Kasatkina, who broke Gauff three times and lost her serve twice, led 4-2 after the opening six games of the second set. Kasatkina held on to her serve in the rest of the set and that’s how she completed a two-set win.
