Gauff says Rome effort offers key lesson for French Open title defense

With a title defense at Roland Garros looming in just over a week's time, Coco Gauff has no interest in letting too many details from a frustrating loss to Elina Svitolina in the final of the Internazional BNL d'Italia on Saturday linger. But ones that will are lessons learned, she says.  

Gauff only converted three of 17 break point chances she created in the three-set 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 final -- her third defeat to Svitolina this year -- and said she failed to capitalize because she became “too passive in certain moments.”

She acknowledged that once Svitolina began attacking more aggressively, she responded by retreating instead of elevating her own intensity. It was a trend that was evident not just in the championship match, but throughout the week, and something she and her coaching team will hone in on in the days leading into the year's second Grand Slam tournament.

"I think just being not necessarily more offensive because I'm getting the short balls and stuff ... just capitalizing and working on capitalizing on those shorter balls, having more of a plan on what to do with them," she said. "I think I got a lot of short ones today and just didn't do anything with them."

"Every player when they're down, they start playing more aggressive, they start going for their shots," she added. "I have to just recognize that ... I think it’s something not to lower the intensity of my game when I have the lead."

But the 22-year-old nonetheless added that she had reasons to feel good, as she said that her second straight runner-up effort in Rome tested nearly every scenario a player can face before a major. Gauff believes those experiences could become an advantage when she arrives as the defending champion at a Grand Slam for the second time in her career.

She admitted the pressure got the better of her the first time around -- where she slumped to a fourth-round loss to compatriot Emma Navarro at the 2024 US Open in a flurry of double faults and unforced errors. That pressure will be back again, she said, and she hopes to manage it better.

"I've been down, had the lead, lost the lead, I've been in the final, been down match point [against Iva Jovic in the fourth round]," she said. "Hopefully I can actually learn from each scenario and do better."

"There's a lot of positives I can take from this tournament," she added.