‘People Were More Disappointed Than Before’ – American Prodigy Coco Gauff Opens up on How She Handles Pressure

17-year-old American prodigy, Cori Gauff, commonly known as Coco Gauff came to light when she beat her idol, Venus Williams, in the opening round of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships. She went on to reach the 4th round at SW19. Her uprising graph did not stop there. She overpowered a number of top players in the years that followed.

Gauff was recently in Dubai playing the WTA 500 Dubai Open. The American lost in the 2nd round against compatriot Jessica Pegula. However, what came to notice was her interview with a media house. In the interview, Gauff opened on how she manages pressure. She also spoke about her capability of winning a Grand Slam amongst various other topics. 

What did Coco Gauff say

In the past few years, Gauff has faced stiff competition from several top-tier players and she was able to get the better off them on few occasions. Naturally, expectations began to grow among tennis fans as they started to believe that Gauff could become the next big thing in women’s tennis. 

Speaking to CNN, Gauff opened up on how she manages pressure as she said, “I try my best not to think about what other people expect of me, but it’s definitely different when people expect you to win compared to when you’re an underdog. As I continued to win matches, it wasn’t a shock I was winning to people and when I lost, people were more disappointed than before.”

Cori reached the quarter-finals of the 2021 Roland Garros. She became the youngest woman since Venus Williams in 1997 to go that far in a Grand Slam. 

Expressing herself on the milestone achieved, a confident Gauff said, “I learned I was capable of winning a Grand Slam.” Gauff, expecting an even better result at this year’s Roland Garros, further added, “When you make the quarterfinals of a Slam it means you’re one of the eight best players in the world at that time. Hopefully, I can get an even better result next time.”

Also read- ‘Don’t Know How Many More Years I’m Going to Be Playing on a High Level’ – Novak Djokovic Addresses Roger Federer’s Dubai Record

Gauff’s performance in 2022 so far 

After ending her 2021 season with a 3rd round loss at the WTA 1000 BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells), Gauff started her 2022 season at the WTA 500 Adelaide International 1, where she was beaten by World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the second round. However, she made a comeback in the WTA 500 Adelaide International 2 by reaching the semis.

She next entered the Australian Open, suffering a first-round loss to Chinese Qiang Wang. The downfall did not end here. Coco further faced a first-round loss in the WTA 500 Dubai Open.

Despite her consecutive losses, the American is confident about her game and is set to play Shelby Rogers in the first round of the WTA Qatar Open on Monday. 

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