Jovic took a toilet break at the end of the first set, no doubt hoping to reset. Gibson did not bother to leave the court. She sat calmly, with great posture, fiddling with her water bottles and her visor, tucking away strands of stray hair while sampling some of the various liquids on the chair next to her.
Jovic returned, to serve first in set two. Gibson returned the first ball with a sharply-angled cross-court backhand that Jovic, stretched far, barely got strings on as Gibson thundered toward the net to end the point with a putaway. Gibson’s shots are a little like those of Jessica Pegula: her timing is so exquisite that the ball appears to travel faster than it should, given the speed of the swing. But unlike Pegula, Gibson plays with what Duval called, “relentless aggression.”
The more I watch Gibson, the more I think she has Top 10 potential. Vicky Duval on Talia Gibson
It’s fair to wonder if some time next week, or in the coming weeks, Gibson’s magic wand becomes just another tennis racquet. Many players have enjoyed hot streaks, only to see them fade like a sugar rush. Only time will tell where Gibson’s base level will wind up, but you don’t rise in the rankings from No. 118 in January to No. 68—and soon higher, depending on the outcome in Miami—in fewer than three months.
Before the end of the broadcast, Duval said, “The more I watch Gibson, the more I think she has Top 10 potential.”
If anything, Duval’s guess may prove too conservative.
