As the number two seed was upset 7-6(3), 6-1 by Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, The French Open champion who was among those tournament favorites however failed to adjust to the grass surface under the closed roof of Court One.
Young American, 21, who has just had an early exit in Berlin with limited grass-court preparation, confessed after the game that she had a hard time transition from clay.
“I just feel like the surface—I maybe could have used more matches,” Gauff said. “It’s a quick turnaround. Maybe next year I’ll try playing Bad Homburg or Eastbourne.”
In her press conference, Gauff was very emotional and visibly intimated that she had not mentally recovered after Roland Garros and therefore she was not in the right mind for Wimbledon. She was off balance a couple of times during the match and could not get her rhythm going against Yastremska, who had strong performance in the lead-up to the tournament with deep runs in Nottingham and Eastbourne.
“I really do want to do well here,” Gauff said tearfully. “But I definitely need to make changes if I want to be successful on grass.”
Her loss came after that of another American player Jessica Pegula and thus day of top seeds shooting out early at the All England Club was highlighted.
