The American Coco Gauff, who this Saturday won his first ‘great’ by winning the Open the USA at the age of 19 onlyhas a powerful message for those who doubt whether she will ever reach the elite after considering the great promise of women’s tennis.
“Honestly, thanks to the people who didn’t believe in me,” he said on court the moment he beat the Belarusian in the final. Aryna Sabalenka.
“A month ago I won the WTA 500 (Washington) and some people said I would stop there. Two weeks ago I won the Masters 1,000 (Cincinnati) and some people said that was the most I could win. Three weeks later, here I am. with this trophy (…) to all those who thought they poured water on my fire, they actually poured gasoline and now I’m on fire,” he said.
Gauff, dubbed the heir to the Williams sisters, defeated Sabalenka, who this Monday will become the new WTA number one, 2-6, 6-3 and 6-2 in two hours and six minutes.
Amidst absolute euphoria at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, the young American recognized that this victory removed a thorn from his side from the Roland Garros final that he lost in 2022 against the Polish Iga Swiatek in his first match by a title of a ‘great’.
However, Gauff maintained that God placed problems and “turbulence” in his path that made this victory at Flushing Meadows “all the sweeter.”
In addition, the African-American tennis player from Florida thanked his coaches (the Spanish Pere Riba and the American Brad Gilbert) and he had some words of special love for his family.
“Today is the first day that I see my father cry, but he doesn’t want me to tell him…” he joked. Thank you, you believed in me from the beginning. I came to this tournament (since I was a child) and I sat there to watch Venus and Serena (Williams) compete. “So it’s amazing to be on this stage now,” he added.
She also praised her rival Sabalenka, whom she described as an “incredible” player and who she assured deserved to be number one in the WTA.
And before raising the trophy, Gauff left two more anecdotes. First, he said that his brother did not answer his phone call after winning the final and then, when he collected his check for three million dollars as champion, he thanked the legend. Billie Jean Kingwho was present at the ceremony and fought 50 years ago so that the prizes for women and men at the US Open were equal.
Source: La Verdad
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