Two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova shared her thoughts on the upcoming quarterfinal match between Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva and American star Coco Gauff at the WTA-1000 clay-court tournament in Rome, Italy.
“A tough quarterfinal awaits Mirra in Rome against Coco Gauff. She has lost to the American four times already, but now Andreeva is playing with confidence and at a high level. Yes, she has played many matches during this clay season and might be a bit tired, but she has nothing to lose—that’s definitely a plus. Coco is the favorite, but Mirra needs to focus on her opponent and think about tactical variations. In my opinion, she should try to change the pace with her forehand. Mirra has been using slice shots more often lately, and Coco doesn’t like that. At the same time, Andreeva is a fairly comfortable opponent for Gauff, so in any case, she needs to try to play faster, more aggressively, and constantly change the tempo whenever possible. I wish Mirra good luck; we’ll be watching and supporting her,” Kuznetsova wrote on her Telegram channel.