Gauff, positive after being a finalist in Miami: "I am going to learn a lot from this match"

Coco Gauff wanted to, but couldn't. The American was seeking her first title at home, but Aryna Sabalenka thwarted her (6-2, 4-6, 6-3) in a closely contested match that went in favor of the world number one. Nevertheless, the 22-year-old tennis player regains the third position in the WTA rankings after an excellent Miami Open that her team surprisingly did not want her to play.

The reason why her team did not want her to compete in the tournament was due to the bad feelings she left at Indian Wells, where she retired injured. However, playing at home prompted her to take the step, and it turned out well for her.

Despite not clinching the title, the world number three admitted in the post-final press conference that she takes many positive things from this Miami Open. Despite her regret over the poor start of the third set, which ultimately led to her downfall, Gauff will head to the clay court European tour with better feelings than expected.

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Gauff expresses happiness about her Miami Open despite falling in the final against Aryna Sabalenka

"Overall, it was a good tournament. Obviously, it's tough to go home with this result today. I think I will learn a lot from today's match. I felt like I could have done better at some moments, but that's tennis. I'm just happy to have found some rhythm."

Regrets the start of the third set

"What disappoints me the most is that first game of the third set, being up 30-0 and with the momentum of having broken her to win the second. I feel that at that moment it was a very important game to push through, especially because I felt like I wasn't getting many breaks, although I was making her play a lot of balls, considering how tough her serve is."

"I think that's something I need to learn from. In the second set, I was able to raise my level. I felt like in the first set, I was letting her dictate a lot, and that's very challenging when you have Aryna in front of you. But in the second set, I think it was me who took more initiative, playing a bit more aggressively, returning deeper, and doing things like that. Yes, that first game of the third set leaves me a bit disappointed."

About an improved mental approach to her tennis

"For me, it's about focusing on the process and the journey rather than the result. Sometimes I can be someone very focused on the result and base how I feel in life on whether tennis is going well or not. And I don't think that's healthy because there will be good and bad moments, as you've said. This week, I started with minimal goals, which were simply to win that second set of the first match."

"I think when you focus on small goals along the way, even if you have a big final goal, things become much easier. I feel that sometimes in the past, especially in tournaments where I had to defend a lot of points or things like that, in the first round I was already thinking about the final. I didn't do that this week, and I think it's something I can take to other tournaments. Every tournament where things have gone well, I've faced it with that mentality. I think now I'm aware of that mental shift that occurs when I'm not quite there and when I am."

There is still a lot of room for improvement

"I feel like I'm far from my peak in tennis, so that gives me some peace of mind when playing these tournaments and getting good results. I see clearly where I can improve and where I can do much better. Even with something like the serve, I made two double faults, I think, and I know that the more comfortable I feel with it, the fewer of those free points will happen."

Her team didn't want her to play this Miami Open

"My team knows that when I'm in the right mindset, I can do many things. What was happening is that I wasn't in the right mental state coming out of Indian Wells, so I think they wanted to protect me, make sure I didn't get lost in the sport, and that's why they wanted me to rest."

"I think I was more motivated to prove them wrong, and I feel that changed my mentality and prevented it from turning negative. There were few moments during the week when I was negative, and even so, I was able to get out of it quickly."

On the challenge of facing a rival like Sabalenka

"Aryna trusts her game one hundred percent and has a lot of self-confidence, and when you play like that, everything becomes much easier. I've had moments in my career when I've felt very similar, where you feel that whatever happens today, you're going to win."

"When you play against someone who has probably felt that way all year, and you're just trying to find that feeling this week, there's a difference. But I think the more weeks I have like this, even despite the result, the more those results will eventually come my way."

She takes many positive things from this Miami Open

"I learned that sometimes I feel that for things to go well in a tournament, my preparation has to be perfect because I'm someone who gives a lot of importance to that. But I also learned that years and years of work don't vanish in a week," says Coco Gauff, who is heading to Europe for a clay-court tour with the defense of her Roland Garros title on the horizon.

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