Coco Gauff's Wimbledon semi-final dreams were dashed by Karolina Muchova on Thursday, but the American tennis star was gracious in defeat. Despite her disappointment, Gauff was already looking on the bright side.
Gauff 22, had never made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon before this year's tournament, but she fought her way to the last four. Her semi-final match against Muchova was a nail-biter, with Gauff ultimately losing 6-2 1-6 7-6 (12-10). The American won 98 points to Muchova's 95, but it wasn't enough.
So, what was going through Gauff's mind in the aftermath of her loss? In her post-match press conference, she revealed that she's choosing to focus on the positives. 'There's a lot of positives,' she said. 'Obviously got super close. Definitely going to think about the second, third, last point, whatever, but overall I think it was a positive tournament for me. A match for sure to remember.'
Gauff's thoughts were still on that crucial point - a meek drop shot that she hit into the net when she was leading 9-8 in the championship tiebreak. She acknowledged that it was a tough pill to swallow, but defended her decision to play the drop shot. 'I mean, there's one thing to be, like, why play a dropshot, but then I think how many points I won off the dropshot,' she explained.
In the end, Muchova's more or less win set up a final against compatriot Linda Noskova on Saturday. For Gauff, it's on to the next challenge - and she's determined to bounce back stronger. When asked about her only regret, Gauff kept things in perspective. 'It's tough to digest, but I don't know, I'm happy,' she said.