A little bit of luck, but a whole lot of skill. Coco Gauff is making a habit of turning seemingly lost points into highlights -- and her latest Houdini act came at the National Bank Open on Wednesday.
Leading fellow American Kayla Day 6-2, 4-2, Gauff showed off her incredible athleticism twice in the same rally -- first, with a dig out of the forehand corner and, then, with quick reflexes and thinking to guess where her compatriot was intending to stick her follow-up forehand volley. Gauff was quick on her feet to read Day's play, stuck her racquet out, and floated it past the outstretched left-hander at the net for a winner.
Afterwards, a sheepish Gauff was quick to repeatedly label the reflexed pass "lucky" -- but the anatomy of the point speaks to the American's elite athleticism. By extending the rally with the first retrieval, she forced herself into position for one last chance and reacted in an instant when that opportunity came.
"I was kind of leaning toward the other way, and then the last second she, or, I changed my mind and she went there," Gauff said after her eventual 6-2, 7-5 win.
"I definitely think, I guess that shot was lucky, but I do tend to win a lot of these weird points, so maybe it's not always so lucky. But it definitely makes a difference, I feel like, putting one more ball in.
"It's a skill that I'm definitely continuing to hone. Obviously I'm trying to play more aggressively and not always rely on it. But I think at that point I had no other choice but to do that."
