Coco Gauff just served up a stone-cold dish of revenge, not against her rival, but against the very idea of a slump. After getting absolutely demolished by Amanda Anisimova in the Beijing semifinals just days ago, Gauff walked onto the court in Wuhan with something to prove.
And prove it, she did. Her opponent, Moyuka Uchijima, probably wishes she’d called in sick. In a match that lasted less time than it takes to watch an episode of The Office, Gauff dismantled Uchijima with a surgical 6-1, 6-0 victory in just 51 minutes.
Talk about a comeback. It was a brutal watch for anyone who wasn’t a Gauff fan. For those of us who are, it was pure, unadulterated dominance. It was the kind of performance that makes you lean back and say, “Oh, so that’s what she was mad about.”
Let’s rewind a bit. Saturday was a dark day for Coco Gauff. She suffered one of the most lopsided losses of her season, a 6-1, 6-2 thrashing by Anisimova. It was the kind of match that has fans and pundits alike whispering about confidence issues and questioning form. Gauff herself was refreshingly honest after that beatdown, admitting Anisimova played on another level and that she simply couldn’t find a way into the match. No excuses, just a promise to learn from it.
Well, it seems her learning curve is practically a vertical line. Gauff didn’t just learn; she came back with a vengeance. She stepped onto the Wuhan court and immediately went to work, breaking Uchijima’s serve and storming to a 3-0 lead before her opponent could even blink.
Uchijima managed to hold her serve once to get on the board—a small victory she’ll probably tell her grandkids about—but that was the last moment of hope she’d have. Gauff slammed the door shut and won the next nine games straight. It was less of a tennis match and more of a public execution.
The stats from this match are just absurd. Gauff fired off five aces, which is impressive enough in such a short match. But get this: zero double faults. For a player who has sometimes struggled with her serve, that’s a massive statement. She was a machine, converting five of her eight break points and, most tellingly, not facing a single break point herself. Uchijima couldn’t even get a sniff of a chance. It was a masterclass in aggressive, clean, and utterly ruthless tennis.
After the match, Gauff was all smiles, clearly pleased with her swift and brutal work. “Obviously, today was a good match for me, I played well,” she said, in what might be the understatement of the tournament. She added that with this being her last event in Asia, she’s just looking to enjoy herself before heading home for the WTA Finals. If this is her version of “enjoying herself,” the rest of the tour better be on high alert.
This win wasn’t just about advancing to the next round. It was about exorcising the demons of that Beijing loss. It was Gauff reminding everyone—and perhaps herself—that one bad day at the office doesn’t define a champion. She’s a two-time Grand Slam winner for a reason, and she just put that power on full display. Now, as she moves on to face either Sorana Cirstea or Zhang Shuai, the message is clear: Coco Gauff is back, and she’s not messing around.
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