Andy Roddick predicts who Coco Gauff will lose to at Roland Garros
Andy Roddick showcased an unsurprising focus on US talent ahead of the Roland Garros tournament, which started today.
With a starring cast of US players to pick from too, he was really spoilt for choice, and will have enjoyed some of the fine performances put in already.
However, his focus, particularly on the women’s side, was with Coco Gauff.
His prediction, however, was one of when she would lose rather than if.
Andy Roddick makes bold Coco Gauff prediction for Roland Garros
When seeking to map out the entire women’s draw, Roddick unsurprisingly had to throw in a few surprises.
However, they were largely reserved for the men’s side, as he instead landed on a semi-final including the top four seeds in Roland Garros.
US Andy Roddick gestures during his third round match against Russia’s Teimuraz Gabashvili in the French Open tennis championship at the Roland Gar…
Photo credit should read PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP via Getty Images
But, he seemed far less confident in his compatriot’s road to that stage, and would then dismiss her chances completely given who she is set to face should she reach that far.
The former world number one first commented on her first round draw, speaking on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast: ‘Coco. Unknown qualifier. I like Coco.’
However, with Jelena Ostapenko next in her way, Roddick was somewhat shaken: ‘God this is going to be a tough one for Coco. I’m not going to pick against her. Coco vs Ostapenko quarter.’
Then, when Iga Swiatek entered the conversation, little else mattered: ‘I have Iga in the semis but it doesn’t matter, Iga is in the final.’
Coco Gauff will have to get past Iga Swiatek
Whilst it goes without saying, Swiatak is the woman to beat in this tournament.
And Gauff will have to do it before the final if she is to reach that stage, where she will likely face one of Elena Rybakina or Aryna Sabalenka.
It is a brutally tough draw for the 20-year-old, who also has Ons Jabeur and Ostapenko to contend with too.
Iga Swiatek of Poland and Coco Gauff of the United States shake hands at the net after the semi-final on Day Eleven of the Internazionali BNL D’Ita…
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images
However, with her sole Grand Slam triumph in 2023, where she won the US Open title, she showcased her penchant for overthrowing some elite opposition, defeating Elise Mertens, Ostapenko, Karolína Muchová and Sabalenka as she claimed the title.
Gauff can certainly mix it with the big hitters on the tour, and has found remarkable consistency in the last few years to justify her third-placed ranking in the world.
But if she is to win this particular accolade, she will have to summon all her talent and grit to overcome Swiatek and then defeat another top-level competitor to go one step further than she did in 2022.
