MASON – In a match equally thrilling as it was heartbreaking for local fans, Coco Gauff and Cincinnati native Caty McNally saw the end of their Western & Southern Open appearances Saturday night. The “McCoco” duo lost to Paula Badosa and Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.
“At moments we probably could’ve played a smarter tennis but that’s tennis, everybody thinks they can play smarter once the match is over,” Gauff said.
After the first two sets went back-and-forth between the pairs, the tiebreaker round brought the intensity.
Gauff and McNally rallied from behind for most of the round, nevertheless showing glimpses of hope to extend the match. Using the support of the McNally-favored crowd, the American duo inched in on the Spanish lead.
“Towards the end I tried to get the crowd more into it because I knew that if we were able to do that, they’d get loud and they’d totally back us up and I think that’s huge,” McNally said. “The crowd support here is great and they always support the hometown girl super well.”
McNally said she used to feel added pressure when playing in front of family and friends, but now the 19-year-old uses it as motivation.
“When I was a little younger, I handled it a little different…but now I think I’ve matured and realized that they’re all there for me, supporting me and I handle it a lot better,” McNally said.
Gauff and McNally brought the tiebreaker to 9-7 before Badosa and Tormo pulled away to the 10-8 victory.
“In the tie breaker it pretty much just came down to a few points here or there,” McNally said. “Each point is so crucial.”
Both McNally and Gauff already suffered eliminations from the singles bracket. McNally lost Tuesday night to Dayana Yastremska and Gauff lost earlier Wednesday to Naomi Osaka.
“It definitely is difficult after losing your singles match to mentally bounce back,” Gauff said. “It’s something that I still need to work on when I lose singles and have doubles the same day.”
Regardless, McNally was quick to express gratitude for being back in her home city.
“It was so nice to be back here playing in Cincinnati. Hopefully next year I could do a little bit better, but I’ll keep working hard to do that. It’s super special to be back,” McNally said.
Badosa-Tormo will advance to the quarterfinals where they will play Anna Blinkova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Russia.
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