Serena Williams has always been an idol, says Cori Gauff
Cori Gauff spoke about her admiration for the 23-time Grand Slam singles winner. The American 15-year-old said: “Serena Williams has always been an idol, and Venus, I mean, they’re the reason I wanted to pick up a tennis racket,” Gauff told reporters at the time. “I met them both, and they’re both super kind people and I’m just super happy and thankful that they chose to play tennis because I’m sure they’d dominate any sport they wanted to play.”
Patrick Mouratoglou, who has been Williams's coach since 2012, praised Gauff: “Everything I believed was necessary to become a champion, I can see at that age already. If I point out the most important things, saw athleticism, the drive, self-confidence — but not cocky — just a belief in herself. Hard worker. Super competitor. You see her in practice, then she goes into the match, it’s a different level. She knows how to win.”
Gauff was excited by the support she got at Flushing Meadows: "For me it's still wild. This is the first time -- well, not the first time. The first round was the first time I actually had a chant, but today it was a lot louder and a little more consistent. I was thinking like maybe they feel like I'm Golden State in Game 7 or something. It's different because you're an individual player, so it's weird, I guess. Most of the time you hear the chants, it's for a whole team, not just for, like, me. So it was pretty cool."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2UmOJvG
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