John McEnroe believes Coco Gauff shares similarities with Carlos Alcaraz as both are athletic and compete with big hitters on their respective tennis tours.
Talking about Gauff, the former World No. 1 said that he will be surprised if the teenager didn’t win “a bunch of more” Grand Slam titles. Gauff is in the final of the opening slam of the season and is set to face defending Australian Open Champion Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals of the event scheduled on Thursday.
The World No. 4 defeated Sabalenka in three sets in the final of the 2023 US Open in last September to seal her maiden Major title. She was also a runner-up at the 2022 French Open. The 19-year-old edged out Marta Kostyuk in the quarterfinals in Melbourne and is currently on 10-match winning streak after successfully defending her Auckland title before the start of Happy Slam.
World No. 2 Sabalenka overcame Elena Rybakina in three sets in last year’s final to lift her first major trophy. The big hitting Belarusian has made it to the semifinals in her last six Grand Slams.
Talking to Eurosport, former World No. 1 John McEnroe compared Gauff to 2-time Singles Grand Slam winner Alcaraz and backed the sensational American for more success in future.
“You know, I look at Coco a little bit like Alcaraz against some of the bigger hitters. It’s similar with her. She’s not as big as the other players and but she’s extremely athletic, the way Alcaraz is. I expect her to win more majors,” the American said.
“She will definitely win more majors. She seems to be in a good place. Mentally, she added some pieces to her team, such as Brad Gilbert, and is working with Andy Roddick and you can see the improvements on her serve.
“Brad has a history with some of the other top players, so he knows you know what it takes, and it seems to have helped her. Obviously she won the US Open already so I expect big things from her. She’s still young. But over the course of the next 10 years, I’d be surprised if she didn’t win a bunch of more majors.
“It will be interesting hopefully to see her develop along with some of these other players and soon there’ll be a new younger player or two that will be added to the mix.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian and WTA #93 qualifier Dayana Yastremska will face 12th seed Zheng Qinwen in the second women’s singles semi-final on Thursday.
McEnroe urged the 23-year-old from Ukraine to enjoy the semi-final as he reflected back on his own experience of reaching in the final 4 at Wimbledon as a qualifier.
“I qualified and made it to the semis of a major and was completely overwhelmed when I walked on Wimbledon centre court for the first time. Her opponent will be different and just as surprised as she is when she is in the semis,” he said.
“I played like the No 1 or No 2 guy and I felt like I had already lost before I stepped on the court [in the Wimbledon semi-finals in 1977]. I feel like she will already think she has lost to whoever wins out of Gauff and Sabalenka. She just has to enjoy it.
“She’s been through a lot of stuff already, off the tour, suspended, came back and won her appeal. Here she is and it’s incredible. Talk about wide open. She has a great chance to keep moving forward but she hits a great ball and I don’t see why she can’t get to the final.”