Given how things panned out three years ago, Coco Gauff fans would be up and about after the American clinched her second Cincinnati Open title ahead of the US Open. Despite winning the coveted double back in 2023 and winning in Cincinnati for a second time this year, the World No.4 was cautious not to be too confident about her chances at Flushing Meadows.

“I don’t think that this is an indicator that I’m gonna do well in New York or anything like that,” said Gauff in her press conference. “To be honest, so I don’t really take that into consideration.”

While Gauff might be hedging her bets for New York, any fan would be bullish about the American’s chances at the Open, as she clinched the Cincinnati title with a dominant 6-2, 6-4 win over Jessica Pegula.

Also, Gauff has been in excellent form throughout the hard-court swing, having reached the semifinals in Toronto before her title run in Cincinnati. However, since she lost her first set against Liudmila Samsonova in the first round of the Cincinnati Open, the World No.4 won twelve sets in a row to clinch the title. For someone who is known for her ability to secure hard-fought victories, dominant scorelines throughout a WTA 1000 event would do a lot of good for Gauff’s confidence.

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Historically, Gauff has been in good form at warm-up events whenever she has gone on to win a Major. Back in 2023, she won both the Washington and Cincinnati titles before winning the US Open. Before winning the French Open last year, she was in excellent clay-court form, having reached the finals of both the Madrid Open and the Italian Open.

It is not only the victories but also the subtle changes that Gauff has brought to her game that increase her chances in New York. Starting from her Wimbledon campaign, the American has come to the net more often and tried to play first-strike tennis while not letting go of her usual defensive baseline skills. The mixture of two styles was visible in Cincinnati as well, as the American took aggressive return positions, breaking the likes of Marta Kostyuk six times in the quarterfinal and Pegula five times in the final.

Overall, Gauff has a 20-6 record at Flushing Meadows, but she has had successive fourth-round exits in the last two years, having won the title in 2023. The American’s struggles with her serve and her habit of double faults proved critical to her losses on a faster hard court in New York. However, the serve issues seem to have subsided for the time being, as Gauff made only 23 double faults across six matches in Cincinnati, fewer than four per match on average.

It is understandable from Gauff‘s perspective that the American does not want to get overconfident before her home slam, but her form truly makes her one of the strongest favorites for a title run in New York.