Tennis news - Coco Gauff has the qualities of a champion, says Patrick Mouratoglou
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Published 20/01/2020 at 22:05 GMT
At the age of 15, Coco Gauff has two career victories over seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams - and Eurosport expert Patrick Mouratoglou thinks she has all the qualities needed to lift major trophies herself.
Gauff
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He suggested that after her Wimbledon triumph against Venus last summer, Monday's straight-sets first-round win should have come as no surprise - and Gauff should even have been considered as favourite for the match.
And Mouratoglou - at whose academy Gauff trains - revealed that the teenager has an ideal temperament and attitude for a top player.
"She's not the type of person who's impressed!" he told Barbara Schett-Eagle and Mats Wilander on Game, Schett and Mats.
"We have to get used to being surprised by her," he added. "She is an incredible competitor, and that, I think, is one of the biggest qualities of a champion."
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'It wasn't always smart to do that!' - Gauff explains her gameplan to beat Venus
World number one Ashleigh Barty had a tougher time in her own opening match, losing the first set to Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko before coming through 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.
And Wilander suggested that perhaps her tactics were a little risky.
"She is so good at winning three-set matches - there's a lot of matches she shouldn't play three sets in, but it takes her a little bit of time to figure out how to beat her players," he said.
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