© Getty Images Sport – Hannah Peters
Coco Gauff is drawing inspiration from Elina Svitolina as the 19-year-old hopes that she can also one day have a baby and then make a strong post-pregnancy comeback, though not anytime soon.
Gauff, the top-seeded player in Auckland, secured back-to-back titles at the tournament after beating 6-7 (4) 6-3 6-3 in the final. Had 29-year-old Svitolina won, it would have been her second title since returning to tennis last April.
After being sidelined for 13 months, it didn’t take long before former world No. 3 Svitolina started playing her best again. Since returning, Svitolina has been to two finals and she also made her first Wimbledon semifinal. Svitolina also enjoyed a strong French Open run just after returning as she was a quarterfinalist at Roland Garros last year.
“I’d like to congratulate Elina and your team. What you do, being a mom, coming back so fast at such a high level is inspiring… Hopefully, not any time soon (laughs), I’ll be able to do it like you did,” Gauff said after the Auckland final.
Gauff’s comeback win over Svitolina lands her second Auckland title
A bit surprisingly, Gauff lost the first set despite having the lead and being very close to winning the opener. In the first set, Gauff was twice up by a break – she even served for the opener at 5-4 and had two consecutive set points. But Gauff failed to convert on her chances as Svitolina forced a tie-break, in which she took a 6-2 before realizing her third set point to win the opener.
After losing the first set, Gauff stormed back in the second set as two breaks of serve gave the American a comfortable 5-2 lead. Svitolina managed to get one break back in the eighth game but Gauff’s third break of the set in the ninth game sealed the set for the American.
