Andy Roddick has a very different opinion on Coco Gauff to everyone else after watching her lose the Italian Open final, 'I actually think the opposite'

Jasmine Paolini should steal all the plaudits for her performance in the Italian Open final, where she brushed aside Coco Gauff in straight sets.

However, as is often the case with a player as revered and renowned as the American, such an outcome demands an inquest.

Andy Roddick has now offered his piece on the hot topic, but seeking to downplay the issue whilst even offering a potential solution.

Andy Roddick offers Coco Gauff advice after Italian Open loss

Speaking to Tennis Channel immediately after the match, which saw the hometown hero stamp her place in the history books, Roddick did not hold back in his assessment of Coco Gauff.

After all, whilst the former world number one is one of the first to praise the 21-year-old, he is just as critical when the time calls.

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And, after another poor showing from the Gauff forehand, such a reaction is justified. However, he has offered a fix that actually goes against what everyone else is saying:

‘The forehand, which we all talk about all the time, is always going to be in the back of her head until it is not. All of us say she has to be aggressive on it, she has to go for it, I actually think the opposite.

‘If she is not finding it early there is not a world where she can get to 33 errors on that side in two sets.

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‘I actually think it goes the other way. I think she should be aggressive early and if it’s not there and the errors are mounting I think she has to use her mojo and her legs to try and find herself in the match.

‘She kind of made it a bit easier for Paolini, especially when she is trying to close out. She did not give nerves a stage, because she kept dumping forehands and it felt like she went more and more and more aggressive as the errors count kept mounting.

‘I think she might go the other way and go “Listen, if you are going to beat me, you are going to have to put the ball past me”.’

Whilst Roddick was somewhat sympathetic, Jim Courier was concerned for Gauff after what he saw in the final.

Can Coco Gauff win Roland Garros?

After such an error-strewn week in the Italian Open, many would be forgiven for dismissing Gauff’s chances of finally winning the French Open.

However, it’s worth remembering that today’s defeat came in the final of a Masters 1000-level event, which is an achievement in itself.

Not only that, but she overcame tough opposition to reach that stage too, including a dogged Qinwen Zheng and an in-form Mirra Andreeva.

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So, even if the final and semi-final saw her rack up 82 and 55 unforced errors respectively, it should not detract from her very good chances of winning another major in Paris.

She has just over a week now to try and get some marginal improvement on her evident flaws to give her enough to compete for the crown.

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