Coco Gauff jokes about her favorite surface being hardcourt for a while after Naomi Osaka win

Coco Gauff has stated that her confidence on the hard surface increased for a spell after beating Naomi Osaka at the 2020 Australian Open.

Gauff's 2023 hard court swing has been satisfactory. She commenced the season with a title at the ASB Classic, and is 16-5 on the hard courts this year, with a win percentage of 76%.

Following her third-round exit at the Miami Open, Gauff officially entered the clay swing at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. She defeated Veronika Kudermetova in the first round on Wednesday (April 19).

Speaking to the press after the match, the World No. 3 opined that her dominant surface varies season after season.

"I would say it varies on the season. I would say last season -- it varies on the season," she said. "Obviously grass was my favorite for a while. I would say last season I think I would go clay. I think I was really enjoying the clay last season."

Gauff joked that she felt confident on the hard surface momentarily after beating Osaka three years ago.

"Then the season before, or 2019, was it, or 2020 when I had beat Naomi, then hard was like my favorite surface. I think it depends on what I'm doing the best on," Gauff opined.

Gauff expressed satisfaction with her performances during the 2023 hard court season. However, she is dubious about how the clay swing will pan out.

"I had a pretty good, decent hard court season, but I think clay, I'm going to say right now at this moment, clay. Sorry, complicated answer," she stated.

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Coco Gauff to face Anastasia Potapova in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2R

Coco Gauff at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers

Coco Gauff will face Anastasia Potapova in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Thursday (April 20). This will be their fourth meeting on tour.

Gauff does not expect to see herself through that easily against the Russian.

"Her [Potapova] tennis is great. I lost to her Miami a couple weeks ago, and that was a close one. I had opportunities in that match. I mean, again, I'm not expecting an easy match," she said.

Gauff feels she has to remain aggressive to deal with her opponent's "big shots."

"She's been playing better and better each week. I think that I'm just going to have to keep that aggressive mindset, especially against her, someone who can come up with some big shots," she added.

Coco Gauff currently holds a slim advantage over Potapova in the head-to-head, having won two of their three meetings.