NEW YORK | When asked on the court after his US Open first-round victory to describe his performance in front of the crowds in the Arthur Ashe stands, where Barack and Michelle Obama wereCoco Gauff replied, “Slow.”
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The young American then took a short break, as if to give the crowd time to react. The style effect worked and bursts of laughter broke out in the New York night.
It is that during the meeting, the German Laura Siegmund tried to reduce the tempo on servea matter of giving yourself time to recover.
The anecdote is in fact just that, an anecdote. But it can help to understand the enthusiasm surrounding Gauff, 19, who, even if she is “only” the sixth seed of these United States Open, is in the eyes of many the favorite to remove the great honours.
Talent, distribution and maturity
Because not only does the young player have a sense of humor, but she has tennis. Athletic tennis which, although we have seen her shine since she was 15 – she beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2019 – has progressed well over time. A tennis as entertaining as his personality.
And Gauff is not only a great talent and a great repartee, she is also a superb ambassador for her sport, talkative, mature and committed.
AFP photo
At the start of her match against Siegmund, she was signaling to the crowd not to applaud her opponent’s missed serves.
Of course, things got tougher afterwards. Gauff admits it: she decided not to defend the German anymore when the latter started to slow down between her serves.
When she started feeling “frustrated” and decided to take it on, she explained.
Titles, enthusiasm
This summer, Gauff, newly advised by Brad Gilbert, was crowned champion in Washington and Cincinnati, where she beat world No. 1, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, in the semifinals.
Of course, it was enough for the American media to get carried away.
But why not?
In the land of Uncle Sam, tennis fans are looking for their new star. It’s been a year, in fact, since Serena Williams said goodbye to them on the biggest tennis stadium in the world.
Don’t compare Coco to Serena, though. She’s been trying to avoid comparisons for years. And if she feels some pressure at this US Open, that she feels that “everyone is watching her,” she told the magazine. PeopleThursday, never “she will fill Serena’s shoes”.
“No one will take Serena’s place because she is unique,” she added. But I will try to be the best version of Coco.”
2023-08-31 22:29:15
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