Coco Gauff Has First Round Exit At U.S. Open

On Monday, 16-year-old tennis sensation Coco Gauff failed to reach the second round of a major, losing to Anastasija Sevastova in three sets. This was a shocking upset that some are attributing to the fact that there was no crowd present at the Open for the first time in its history.

“I think an American crowd would have lifted Coco and helped her to win that match,” said Chris Evert, ESPN analyst, during the postmatch broadcast. “She would have won the match if she was playing in front of 22,000 people who are cheering for her. Saying that, Anastasija played the match of her life. She just really defused a lot of the power that Coco had. The atmosphere was flat in the stands, but on the court, you could still sense the electricity and the tension and you still knew that these players were playing for a Grand Slam title.”

Gauff dropped the first set then attempted to mount a comeback. I agree with his no-crowd argument. Tennis is a sport of momentum and it is tough to feel. like you re really staging a massive comeback when you are playing in silence. “I don’t really think so,” Gauff said after the match when asked if fans could have helped her. “I think I compete just as hard with fans or not. I could have played better today.” It is safe to assume that Gauff will be on the tour for a long time to come and can use this as a learning experience to really taste the disappointment of being upset early.