© Getty Images Sports-Sarah Steele
Serena Williams’ childhood coach Rick March believes Corey Goff is now “more relaxed and calm inside,” but the passion and desire to reach greater heights remains intact. Gauff defeated Mira Andreeva 6-3 6-2 on Wednesday to advance to the third round of the U.S. Open.
With the win, Goff improved to 13-1 on hard courts this summer. After winning Washington and her first WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati, Gauff hopes to become a Grand Slam champion at the U.S. Open. “The wildcard for @CocoGauff is that I see a more relaxed, chilled inner peace, but the same fire and higher desire to dream.
She has found her ideal performance state where mind and body are best friends and she is not in competition with herself. Number one on the horizon! ” Macci wrote on X.
The wildcard is @cocogoff I saw a more relaxed, icy inner peace, but the same fire and higher desire to dream.
She has found her ideal performance state, mind and body are best friends and she will not compete with herself. Number one on the horizon! — Rick Macci (@RickMacci) August 31, 2023
March praises Goff’s progress
After her first-round loss at Wimbledon, Gauff took some time to analyze what happened, and she hired Andre Agassi’s former coach Brad Gilbert.
During the first half of the season, Gauff’s forehand came under public attack from opponents, with some players publicly saying they were taking issue with that particular shot in Team USA games. But opponents haven’t had much success targeting Gauff’s forehand in recent weeks.
After her victory over Andreeva, Gauff explained how she saw opponents become frustrated because their game plans weren’t working. “Yeah, I mean, things have improved. That’s for sure.
I think some of the opponents hit me differently and some didn’t. Honestly, it depends on the day. To be honest, my wings still need to improve a lot. Yeah, but I definitely think that, you know, I’ve noticed that sometimes people do get frustrated with their teams, like this happens.
Sometimes you see it back and forth and I don’t know if they caught it on camera. Yeah, that’s definitely something I can improve on. I think it’s just part of learning. I admit it’s a weakness, I try my best to improve it, and I still need to improve it. Yes,” Goff said.