Gauff, who won her only Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2023, has been in top form in recent months, winning the China Open and clinching her first WTA Finals title in November.<\/p>\n
She took that form into the United Cup, beating world number two Iga Swiatek in the final to help the United States win their second title at the mixed team tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel more comfortable now than ever,\u201d said the 20-year-old, whose Flushing Meadows title defence ended in the fourth round last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think not even from the fact of the changes (in playing style). I just realized the importance of winning or losing a match.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs athletes, losing feels like the end of the world, and winning feels like something we should do, not something we should be grateful for.<\/p>\n
No one makes us feel like that except ourselves. I think I just realized it\u2019s never that important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gauff made some adjustments to her game, including grip changes, after bringing in new coach Matt Daly in place of Brad Gilbert last year.<\/p>\n
After struggling with her serve throughout 2024, Gauff said she now had more tools to work with on the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think just going for my shots more, being more okay with missing, taking chances,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore, I feel like I won a lot of matches just being able to get a lot of balls back. I realized that\u2019s not the way to play if I want to have more success on tour because girls are hitting harder and harder every day, being more aggressive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m able to be aggressive but also run around the court if I need to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gauff faces compatriot and former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin in the first round at Melbourne Park.<\/p>\n
–Reuters–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12487,"template":"default||default||default||default||default||default||default||default","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-12486","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.","published_date":null,"news_description":"Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest difference.||Coco Gauff is feeling more comfortable than ever in her game heading into the Australian Open and while changes to her playing style have had an impact the world number three says it is her different mindset which has made the biggest 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