Coco Gauff plays anti-grass tennis at Wimbledon to nullify Jessica Pegula for semifinal debut
THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB, London — Coco Gauff is happening at Wimbledon, and she is doing it her way.
Gauff, the two-time Grand Slam champion with designs on winning many more, toppled Jessica Pegula, her fellow American, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Centre Court Tuesday, and after three matches in which she showed how she has adapted to the grass under her feet, she won another way — by playing anti-grass.
Gauff, 22 arrived at Wimbledon without a grass-court win in two years. Like Pegula, 32, this was her first Wimbledon quarterfinal. But on a day when Pegula, who has a history of winning on faster, slicker grass in Europe, figured to be the favorite, Gauff instead dragged her into a loopier, deeper and scratchier kind of match, breaking Pegula’s rhythm.
There were some classics of lawn tennis in Gauff’s arsenal. Her first serve fired, scorching through the court on a hot summer’s day. She played the net points better and with more creativity than Pegula.
But the core of the victory was earned behind the baseline, with high, heavy forehands and flatter backhands, keeping Pegula’s toes off the whitewash and forcing her to take a backward step, where the ball would rise out of her strike zone, on just about every point.
Karolína Muchová, a master of touch and feel, or Naomi Osaka, a first-strike power reborn, await in the semifinals. Gauff will know which version of herself she needs to get past them.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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