Coco Gauff looks to reclaim the magic of last year - ESPN

PARIS — Coco Gauff has been on a journey of self-discovery in Paris. She's figuring out what she calls her «transition into adulthood,» in a city she calls her second home. She's trying to find the form that guided her to the final here last year. And she's trying to solve her forehand.

It's a lot to take in, alongside the unsociable hours required to keep tabs on her beloved Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. But for whatever reason, Paris seems to act as a healing balm for Gauff. Her story comes full circle as she prepares to face Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals, the artist of her downfall in last year's final.

She finds the beneficial effects of Paris hard to pin down on one factor. She loves the city's architecture, history, food and joie de vivre, and it has a calming effect on her. «I just like walking around here,» Gauff, 19, said. «I mind my business. I love walking around the city, I love people watching and the fashion is really cool here.»

One thread through all she has said has been how eager she is to fine-tune herself. Paris is helping. «That comes through trial and error,» she said before she'd taken to the court here. «I feel like for some reason, though, I always seem to find that in Paris. I don't know if it's the city or the vibe here that makes me a lot more at ease.»

She has done her best to avoid talking about last year's final, a match she lost to Swiatek in straight sets 6-1, 6-3. The loss hurt — and she has since admitted it took a fortnight to process. There are reminders here still a year on, despite her best efforts to move on. After her first-round win over Rebeka Masarova, she was asked about how she had managed to fight back from a set down to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. She said the mindset was «bleep