Coco Gauff After Delray Beach Exho: Feels great to play in front of family e friends

American teen Coco Gauff says playing in front of her home crowd at Delray Beach was an amazing experience after beating defending NCAA singles champion Estela Perez-Somarriba 6-3, 6-3  on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 5,544 at the Delray Beach Stadium and Tennis Center, the first women’s match ever to be played as part of the ATP Tour’s Delray Beach Open.

Gauff has become a household name in the tennis world after her breakthrough at Wimbledon last year when she reached the fourth round as a qualifier. She has climbed up to No. 51 in the world rankings after winning her first WTA title last year and reaching the third round in New York and the fourth round at the Australian Open in January.

As per the tournament website, Gauff says, “I was actually a little bit nervous today because of the crowd. You don’t want to let your home town down. I’ve played a couple exhibitions but this one definitely felt a lot different from my previous ones. It was something I was happy to do. It feels great to play in front of my family and friends who haven’t got to see me play live (professionally). It was good to give them a chance to see me play. … I don’t put much pressure on myself. I mean today was definitely a more relaxed situation than I’m used to. . . . It was pretty vocal for both of us. Both of us had fun and her team was here, so that was pretty cool. I’ve been a UM fan for a long time so when I found out I was going to play her it was pretty cool.”

On her opponent, Gauff says Perez-Somarriba has a bright future. "She’s going to go pro, so I’m sure I’m going to see her and probably play her (again) where we’re both a little more serious. She has a bright future.”

The 15 year old Gauff says her goal remains to win a Grand Slam "I’m definitely close and it’s just getting over that final hurdle (to win a grand slam)."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2HwpiSI