Coco Gauff has a new mindset for title defense and more confidence on her serve

[AP Photo]

Coco Gauff has a new approach for her second time around attempting to defend a Grand Slam title.

The American’s strategy heading into the French Open — the clay-court major that starts Sunday and which she won a year ago — goes something like this: Don’t think about it as defending something.

“I realize that the ‘defending’ means nothing in a way,” Gauff said. “I don’t really look at it as defending anymore.”

Gauff’s first Grand Slam title defense at the U.S. Open two years ago ended in the fourth round with 19 double faults.

“At the U.S. Open I was like, ‘I need to defend, defend.’ When you’re playing a tournament that you didn’t win, what is it called?” Gauff said recently in Rome. “That’s why I just say now it’s just another tournament: ‘I won it last year. I’ll try again to do it this year.’ I’m not going to be able to defend every year. I’m not Rafa.”

Rafa, of course, would be Rafael Nadal, the record 14-time French Open champion.

Gauff’s first Roland Garros title came with a victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the final a year ago.

Just like last year, Gauff was the runner-up at the Italian Open — a major clay-court warmup for Roland Garros.

“There’s a lot of positives I can take from this tournament and a lot I can learn from,” Gauff said after losing the final in Rome to Elina Svitolina. “This week I experienced all the ups and downs of a tournament.”

Gauff sees improvement in her serve

Another big lesson that Gauff will take from Rome is a positive vibe on her serve after years of struggles.

In two of her wins at the Foro Italico, she committed only one double fault. She then had seven in the final, though.

“I think it’s a real improvement,” Gauff said after getting 78% of her first serves in against Sorana Cirstea in the semifinals. “It’s the first time in my career I feel like I’m really stable with that shot.

“It’s been an up-and-down process. I obviously don’t want to jinx anything, but I think we found the recipe to making it more consistent. Now it’s focusing on how to make it more of a weapon, how to serve smarter.”

Gauff also discussed what she’s doing better technically on her serve.

“I’m tossing a bit more consistent. My weight is a little bit better. Also just the trust, the confidence in it is a lot better,” she said. “Because my confidence in it is better, then I’m actually consistently tossing the ball in the right spot, having my technique be the same on each serve regardless where my target is. That’s the biggest difference.”

Sabalenka struggling on clay

While Sabalenka remains unbeatable at times on hard courts – see her “Sunshine Double” this year with titles in Indian Wells, California and Miami – she is still perfecting her game on clay.

She was upset by American Hailey Baptiste in the Madrid Open quarterfinals and then the No. 1 player was beaten in the third round at the Italian Open by 36-year-old Cirstea.

Sabalenka appeared visibly bothered by lower back pain in Rome.

Elena Rybakina, ranked No. 2 and this year’s Australian Open champion, is another player who excels on hard courts and has achieved mixed results on clay.

Iga Swiatek, the four-time French Open champion, lost to Svitolina in the Rome semifinals and is still reshaping her game under a new coach, Francisco Roig, who used to work with Nadal.

Swiatek’s 26-match winning streak at Roland Garros ended in the semifinals last year with a loss to Sabalenka. ANDREW DAMPF, Sports Writer, MDT/AP