Coco Gauff: I was nervous going on to the court
Teen sensation Coco Gauff became the talk of the town following her Wimbledon heroics and the American was at it again, this time at the US Open.
She reached the Second Round of the last Grand Slam of the year after defeating Russia's Anastasia Potapova 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, absorbing all the energy from a cheering crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
"It was because of the crowd," Gauff said. "No matter where I was on the court, I could always hear somebody supporting me and I'm grateful for that."
Speaking a bit about the atmosphere, she added, "It was crazy," she said. "I was nervous going out on the court, such a big court, and my home Slam, I wanted to do well. It was a great atmosphere to play in and a great experience for me."
Discussing the match a bit, Gauff added, "I was like, 'I have to reset, stop thinking about what would happen after the match, just think about what I need to do to win the second set,’. "I wanted to win and I was trying to calm myself down. It was the crowd that helped me because I was down and I was almost out."
With a possible showdown against Naomi Osaka now in sight, Gauff shared some thoughts about the Japanese too. "I first met Naomi (when) I hit with her at the Miami Open maybe three years ago," Gauff said. "Our dads always knew each other. When I talked to her, we do have similarities.”
She further added, "She's doing amazing, obviously. Hopefully I can get to her level. I mean, she's amazing. She's a nice person. I can't even say anything bad about her, her family, because they've always been super nice, even since I was 12."
Speaking about being an inspiration to many, Gauff said, "The amount of people, and kids especially, that come up to me saying I inspire them is better than any match I could win, just to know that I inspire another kid maybe to pick up a racquet or go through something they're facing at school. I just hope I can continue to inspire. What I do on court is great, but what really matters is what happens off court, the people who you affect."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Hvse28
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