Former tennis No. 1 explains how pressure is shaping Coco Gauff’s US Open journey

Lindsay Davenport, discussing that moment, has urged fans to ease off on Coco Gauff, noting how visible the strain is on the young player.

“Watching her practice the day before, you could see it out on the practice court. She was fighting back tears,” she said to Tennis Channel.

“It’s interesting. It’s 6-5 up, Donna Vekic breaks to serve for the first set. She calls an injury time-out. There’s about a seven-minute break. After a few minutes, Gauff went out to serve. Hits every single one of the 15 serves she tried to hit on both the deuce and sides.

“And so it really gives you a sense that in tennis, what you don’t want to do is overthink, and she’s now trying to learn new grips and new technique, and it’s just all too much for her.

“It seems like everyone’s got to take a step back and just say, ‘You know what? Just go play. Let’s go try and figure out this last major of the year, then we can catch our breath.’ But that was heartbreaking to see.”

Jim Courier shares what he believes is next for Coco Gauff

Jim Courier, sitting alongside Davenport, also weighed in on the challenges facing Gauff.

He said: “For me, this is the big picture, a remarkable story of resilience in an athlete. She is so vulnerable in full view in the biggest tennis tournament in America, and she is the centrepiece of this tournament.

“So, what she’s doing, and this will happen at some point, there will be a movie on her life. Look, whether it’s a documentary or whether it is a feature film like King Richard, this will be a big part of that because I’m sure this is going to be a pivot point for her with her serve and that’s going to be something that she will ultimately put behind her.

“But the emotions of these moments are really theatrical and she is inspirational for all of us. Incredible.”

Coco Gauff still needs to improve if she wants to reach those heights again, but there are few players on tour who can dig out wins from tough spots quite like her.