Will Stephens put her young compatriot in her place?
There have already been many surprises at the French Open 2022. For only the second time ever in the Open Era, only one player from the current Top 10 reached the last 16 in a women’s singles Grand Slam tournament. Coco Gauff and Sloane Stephens were nevertheless to be reckoned with. After all, both Americans won the girls’ singles at Roland Garros at a young age.
In 2018, when Coco Gauff won the girls’ singles against Caty McNally, Sloane Stephens was even in the final of the French Open women’s singles, where the 29-year-old lost out to Simona Halep. However, the bookmakers do not see any advantage in this experience advantage. In the run-up to the match between Coco Gauff and Sloane Stephens, the odds are swinging in the direction of the 18-year-old.
Nevertheless, there are a few factors in Sloane Stephens’ favour. Not only has she won 32 of her 42 singles matches at the French Open, but she has also impressed throughout the tournament with a service game that is almost impossible to break. Whether that alone will be enough for a triumph against her young compatriot is questionable. However, the 29-year-old should not be broken too often.
Coco Gauff – Statistics & current form
Current ranking in the world rankings: 23
Position in the seedings: 18
Coco Gauff, whose real name is Cori Gauff and who by her own admission prefers hard court, is one of those players who was already able to reach for the stars in her junior career.
In 2017, the American reached the final of the US Open 2017 girls’ singles at the tender age of 13, where she still missed out on the Grand Slam title. Three quarters of a year later, she was to win the overall title in the girls’ singles at the 2018 French Open.
Scored on opponent’s serve 61% of the time in round of 16
In the same year, the lady from Delray Beach made the jump to the WTA Tour, where she has played 157 singles so far.
104 of these matches have been won by the 18-year-old player, who broke into the top 20 of the WTA world rankings for the first time in April and will return there regardless of how the tournament progresses.
The American was convincing in Roland Garros, where she already reached the quarter-finals last year, with four straight 2-0 victories. Against Elise Mertens, she surrendered only two service games and scored an incredible 61% of her points on her opponent’s serve.
Yearly record of 18 wins versus ten losses
Now the 18-year-old is looking to take the next step and get through the quarter-finals in one piece. Looking at the tournament tree, with Martina Trevisan and Leylah Fernandez as possible opponents in the semifinals, a place in the grand final is by no means unrealistic.
However, the young player not only lacks experience, but the lady from Florida has also already lost ten of her 28 singles matches in 2022.
Sloane Stephens – Statistics & Current Form
Current world ranking: 64
Position in the seedings: unseeded
Sloane Stephens is not only a former top-10 player (career high: WTA 3), but can also call herself a Grand Slam winner since her sensational overall victory at the 2017 US Open.
The 29-year-old, who won the girls’ singles at the French Open in her junior career (2010), also says she prefers hard court, but curiously has her best record on clay.
Won 32 of 42 singles at the French Open
At Roland Garros, the American, who even reached the final of the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen in 2018 (1-2 against Simona Halep), won 32 of her 42 completed singles. At no other Grand Slam tournament does Stephens even come close to such a high win rate.
After a mixed start (2-1 comeback win over Jule Niemeier), the number 64 in the WTA world rankings has been getting better and better. She had no problems against Diane Parry, who defeated Krejcikova 2:0, and against Jil Teichmann in the last 16.
Only one service game surrendered in the round of 16
Overall, the former world number three was carried through the tournament primarily by her strong service. The 29-year-old surrendered only three service games in the last two rounds. Even in the opening match, when Stephens was already on the brink of retirement against Niemeier, she only allowed four breaks.
Even with these figures in mind, it makes a lot of sense to bet on Coco Gauff against Sloane Stephens that the 2017 US Open winner will be successfully broken a maximum of four times by her 18-year-old opponent, regardless of the outcome of the American duel.
Coco Gauff – Sloane Stephens Direct comparison / H2H record
Head to head: 0:1
The two ladies faced each other for the first and only time on hard court at the 2021 US Open last autumn. Sloane Stephens prevailed clearly 2:0 (6:4 and 6:2)
Coco Gauff – Sloane Stephens Tip
At the moment the betting companies see the 18-year-old clearly in front. Overall, the prediction for Coco Gauff against Sloane Stephens goes in our eyes to the more experienced 29-year-old, who also won the only direct duel so far. Accordingly, it makes a lot of sense to bet on a win for Sloane Stephens with a small handicap of +4.5 games.
Betting on Coco Gauff to break under 4.5 games offers even more value than the handicap bet. After all, Sloane Stephens has hardly surrendered any service games so far at Roland Garros, while even an outright two-set win for the 18-year-old would not necessarily result in more than four breaks.
