Coco Gauff admits she recognized her mother’s nerves during Emma Raducanu’s victory.
Australian Open 2023
Coco Gauff (18), the seventh seed in the women’s singles, defeated Raducanu 6-3, 7-6, but it was not her most confident performance, as she committed several unforced errors in the second set, allowing Raducanu to force a tiebreak despite trailing 4-2 at one point.
“I don’t look at [my nervous parents] too much during tFAuhe game,” she told Eurosport. “When I say, “Come on!” it’s usually aimed at the box.
“I know my mother gets anxious… And i only caught a glimpse of her on the screen with her head down and thought, [head in hands].
“I had no idea what was going on in her mind at the time, and I don’t think I want to know!”
Gauff, from Atlanta, Georgia, is aiming for her first grand slam title after losing in the final of last year’s French Open to Iga Swiatek.
Raducanu, 20, has never been ranked higher than tenth in the world but won the US Open in 2021. She has since struggled to live up to the lofty expectations that her own success has created.
Also read: Rafael Loses the match and out from Australian Open due to an Injury.
Raducanu, on the other hand, can take pride in taking the game to Gauff.
A seriously impressive performance ?
No.7 seed @CocoGauff beats Emma Raducanu to reach the third round!@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/6CXLQOYq90
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2023
Before the pair met, Gauff claimed that, despite being ranked as high as No. 4 in the world, Raducanu was under more pressure to perform than she was because she was a rare British star with a grand slam title.
“I talk to her pretty much at every tournament,” Gauff admitted.
“I didn’t know her well in junior high, but I’m going to have to talk to her more on tour now.”
“Obviously, she was under a lot of pressure when she burst onto the scene. I believe I am going through more than I have ever gone through in my quest to win a Slam.
“Being from the United Kingdom, and the first British person to do something in a long time, there’s probably a lot more pressure than I’m used to as an American.”
“Obviously, I was much younger when I got the attention, so I definitely think dealing with it at an older age is a little easier than dealing with it at 15.” But, at the same time, I didn’t win a grand slam.
“There’s always someone to look to for American fans.” Whereas I believe it is just her for the British. “There are other British players, but no one has done what she’s done and gotten that far in a Slam,” says the coach.
Gauff’s next singles opponent has yet to be determined, but she and Jessica Pegula will face Donna Vekic and Tereza Martincova in the first round of the women’s doubles on Thursday.
