By Mark Winters
Though it is hard for many to remember that far back, but Kathy Horvath trimmed Kelly Henry, 6-2, 6-2, in the 1980 Junior Girls’ Roland Garros final. Now, 52 and 54 years old, (respectively), they were the first performers from the US to appear in a trophy round contest at the same time. It should be pointed out that it has never been a question of America producing talented youngsters, but more often than not, these players have evidenced skill on surfaces faster than Terre Battue. Over the years, red clay has often left them in the dust.
Last year, in a tingling three setter, two US players electrified Court 1 (The “Bull Ring” as the Stade Roland Garros site is known.) mixing powerful groundstrokes with a pastry chef’s cake decorating finesse. Whitney Osuigwe finally slipped past countrywoman Claire Liu, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.
This year, on Saturday morning, June 9th, the trend continued as Cori “Coco” Gauff faced Caty McNally, in another “Bull Ring” encounter. The pairing pitted a 14-year-old from Delray Beach, Florida against a 16-year-old from Cincinnati, Ohio. The similarities were heightened by the fact that both players stand 5’10” tall.
McNally began the match at jet speed, taking the first set, 6-1. She jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second set, before Gauff found her rhythm. Once she did the match turned. The 2017 US Open Junior finalist, (the youngest ever in tournament history), became more focused and secured the set, 6-3. The third was taut; tense says it even better. One girl would edge ahead then the other would draft by in her wake.
It was almost like a NASCAR race between two highly tuned turbo engines that alternate holding the lead. Gauff eventually garnered two match points, but McNally stayed strong to eventually force a Tie-Break. But, Gauff was not going to be denied. She resolutely closed the door sacrificing merely one point, winning 7-6 (7-1).
The final match totals revealed how close it really was. Gauff collected 90 points to the 88 earned by McNally. Even their serving stats were similar, in that, McNally hit ten double faults, while the winner notched eight. Gauff converted seven of thirteen break points and her opponent claimed eight of twelve.
Following the match, Gauff disclosed, “The night before (Friday) my cousin texted me and she said, ‘No matter what happens, just stay calm and remember that you can win.’ I just kept telling myself to stay calm. I can do this. I just kept grinding every point.”
Admitting that playing the US Open Junior Girls’ final helped her, she said, “I remember being so nervous. I really couldn’t play. So, I tried not let myself get there (here), even though I was nervous. I just told myself to keep fighting.”
When losing those two match points was mentioned, during her post-match press conference, she stated, “I couldn’t really dwell on that. Because if I did, I probably would have lost the Tie-Break. I just told myself to keep going strong.”
She added, “I give it to Caty. She always fights. I knew she did it in the quarterfinals (a 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 victory over En-Sho Liang of Taipei) and again in the semifinals (a 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 decision over Iga Swiatek of Poland). I knew she did it then and she could do it again.”
While this was her first Roland Garros competitive appearance, Gauf isn’t a stranger to France. “A couple of times a year, usually for three or four weeks, I go to Patrick Mouratoglou’s Academy, and when he is there, he helps me out.”
For the US, it may be a trend in the making. Adding the 2015 Roland Garros Junior Boys’ final to the country’s count, an encounter in which Tommy Paul downed Taylor Fritz, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2, the US has had up and coming players make the title round three consecutive years…which is not at all bad for a country that is ordinarily not stalwart on Terre Battue
