Finaliste de Roland-Garros l'an passé, seulement battue par Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff va-t-elle enfin soulever son premier titre du Grand Chelem ? Agée de seulement 19 ans, l'Américaine a déjà une expérience colossale et fait partie des favorites de l'épreuve. Opposée à Rebeka Masarova au premier tour, la pépite Gauff se situe dans le quart d'Iga Swiatek. Un tableau complexe mais pas de quoi effrayer l'Américaine, qui s'est exprimée en conférence de presse ce vendredi.
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SportTranscription
00:00 It is often said that tennis is an individual sport,
00:04 but it is never more beautiful than when it is collective.
00:09 BNP Paribas, faithful to tomorrow's tennis for 50 years.
00:15 Yeah, I think it really hasn't changed much.
00:18 I feel like a year ago it was a lot of time.
00:21 Obviously you think about the result, but I think I'm just focused more on staying in the present.
00:25 Just in terms of practicing, of getting on the courts, of getting into rhythm,
00:29 especially after having to stick around in Rome until the very end with the doubles and everything,
00:34 how has that process been for you and how are you finding the courts and everything?
00:38 Yeah, I think that I got here earlier than most.
00:42 I mean, I got here on, my first hit was Monday,
00:44 and I was pretty much the third person in the locker room, I think the attendee told me.
00:48 So I had a lot of time to get used to the conditions here.
00:52 Obviously a lot different than Rome.
00:54 It feels good to see the sun again.
00:56 And yeah, we were just that night just hoping to play that day so we can leave Rome.
01:01 Rome was great, but the weather did not treat us good at all.
01:04 So we were all looking forward to some well-needed sun.
01:10 Hi Coco, I remember you sitting here a year ago talking about, well, the years that had gone before,
01:16 your experience of life and tour and getting used to it and finding out what works for you
01:22 and that you were trying to now take pressure off yourself and not be so results-oriented.
01:28 I just wonder how you feel now.
01:31 Obviously it's been an up and down year, I guess, since then, but how are you approaching this?
01:37 I feel like, I mean, I would like to approach it the same way,
01:42 but I feel like that's not realistic because I am a different person than I was last year.
01:46 So I think I just have to find the way I want to approach it for this version of myself now.
01:52 And that comes with trial and error.
01:55 I feel like for some reason, though, I always seem to find that in Paris.
01:58 I don't know if it's the city or the vibe here that makes me a lot more at ease.
02:04 So I think that I'm finding it this week.
02:07 I don't know if it's because I know I need to lock in for this tournament
02:12 or if it's just I love the city, so I don't really know, but I seem to always find it here.
02:16 And yeah, I mean, it's one of those things.
02:20 Immediately when I pretty much touched down here,
02:23 I just felt a little bit more at ease than the previous tournaments this season.
02:26 Patrick Motoglou seems to be back on court with you on the previous tournament.
02:33 Can you tell us more about this collaboration and the fact that he's back with you on court?
02:38 Yeah, we started after Madrid and it was just through the clay season.
02:45 He's helping me out. I'm going in between coaches, to be honest.
02:49 I haven't really found a full-time coach, I guess.
02:53 Obviously, he's still with Holger, but I have a great relationship with Patrick.
02:59 I've known him since I was 10 years old and obviously been on the court with him before.
03:03 So I thought he would be a perfect person to help me during this time.
03:08 And yeah, I'm looking forward to the next two weeks with him.
03:12 So both in Madrid and in Rome, you lost relatively early in singles,
03:17 but you had to stay long for the doubles.
03:20 Did you enjoy that or was it tough? Was it good because you had practice partners?
03:26 Obviously, it helped because I was able to play and practice with other girls when I didn't have doubles.
03:32 Otherwise, I don't know where I would have gone. I feel like I would have just stayed at the tournament.
03:38 A lot of players in Rome that lost early stayed in Rome, so at least I had something to do and play doubles.
03:45 Most of them, the ones that were there, were really bored waiting around,
03:50 so at least I had something to do in between.
03:53 But yeah, the last two, I stayed.
03:56 I think I liked playing doubles in those tournaments, the two-week tournaments, because they can be long.
04:02 It gives you something to do in case that happens instead of going back into, I don't know,
04:08 where I would have gone in between those tournaments.
04:11 I don't know if I would have stayed in Rome or went somewhere for a week,
04:14 but I was happy to be in Rome despite the weather.
04:17 Hi, Coco. Just picking up on your answer to David's question,
04:22 I'm just curious about the ways in which you feel like a different person to 12 months ago,
04:27 if you can articulate that, and whether there are any particular experiences
04:30 you feel like really changed you over the past 12 months.
04:33 I think just transitioning into adulthood, really.
04:38 Last year I was 18, now I'm 19, and I think just transitioning into that.
04:45 I also just feel like every year I just feel like a new person.
04:51 It's cliche to say, but looking at myself then and now,
04:56 I get the memories on my Snapchat from a year ago,
04:59 and sometimes you just look at yourself and you just see a different person.
05:02 But yeah, I think I've grown a lot in that year.
05:05 I think there's always things I would like to keep from myself a year ago
05:10 and things I would like to get rid of.
05:12 I think I have to figure out what things I want to keep and what things I don't want to keep.
05:18 I think that's just learning about yourself.
05:20 No matter how young or how old I am, I think I'm always going to be in this process of learning about myself.
05:26 But I feel like even more in these years as I'm transitioning into being a real adult.
05:33 Question over here, next to our reporter.
05:36 Hey Coco. Hello.
05:38 I just wanted to ask you about cyberbullying with the French Open,
05:40 introducing this Bodyguard app.
05:42 I'm just wondering if you could tell us a bit about your use of social media during a tournament,
05:47 using this app, and what your reaction to the app is.
05:49 Yeah, I saw the Bodyguard AI app.
05:53 I didn't apply it to any of my socials.
05:55 I'm not on Twitter, which I feel like that's probably the worst of them all,
05:59 so I don't really see anything on there.
06:01 I'm not on Facebook.
06:03 Instagram, I just filter everything to making people,
06:07 the messages I only can see are people who followed me for some time.
06:11 I would say a couple of weeks I think I set it to.
06:14 So, you know, you have to be a pretty dedicated person to leave a comment.
06:18 That means you would have to follow me for a while to do that.
06:21 So, I don't really see too many bad messages online, honestly.
06:26 Before I implemented that, yes, I would get them on Instagram pretty much daily, hourly.
06:32 So, I think it's really nice that French Open is stepping in
06:36 and finding a way to protect the players.
06:38 I think fans would be surprised some of the things you get,
06:42 not just you, your family get.
06:44 So, I think that's why I feel like I've become more private with my life.
06:48 I don't like to subject my friends and family to that,
06:51 but I think that it's really cool that they're implementing that,
06:53 and I think I hope more tournaments do that in the future.
06:56 Howard and then Koko.
06:59 Hi, Koko.
07:01 You were talking a minute ago about the idea of becoming an adult.
07:05 Excuse me.
07:08 I'm wondering, do you mean in terms of off the court as well as on the court?
07:13 And in the scheme of things, you're still incredibly young,
07:16 but you've been at this for a while now at the top level in terms of playing tennis.
07:22 And I'm wondering, do you think of yourself as young,
07:27 which of course you are in the real world.
07:29 Do you think of yourself as a veteran by now on tour?
07:34 How does the off court life and the on court life,
07:38 how do those sort of mesh with each other for you?
07:41 I feel like on court, in the way I've been an adult since I've joined tour,
07:48 for sure, I would say, I think you could tell in the way I handled myself on the court,
07:54 mostly good, you know, obviously there's moments,
07:57 but I feel like in that aspect, yes.
08:01 Off court, I mean, I would say I'm definitely a person that would consider myself mature.
08:08 I mean, a lot of people consider that about me.
08:10 So I do think being on tour has forced me to grow up faster.
08:13 When I say adulthood, I think just, I guess,
08:19 becoming more independent and finding myself off the court.
08:23 I feel like I'm sure of who I am on the court.
08:27 So I feel like because tennis has been so much part of my life,
08:30 and it's always going to be, but I think now that I'm going to have to,
08:34 you know, maybe I'm not, I haven't moved out,
08:37 but eventually in a couple of years, you know, living on my own,
08:40 I have to realize the things that I actually like to do.
08:43 And I think that's like the weird part, I feel like, of being on tour so long,
08:48 because you've lived a certain way so long.
08:51 But I don't know if this way would be substantial as I continue to get older.
08:56 Last question over here.
08:57 Coco, just wondering if you're keeping track on the heat
09:01 while you've been in Europe,
09:03 and what your thoughts are on where they're at right now.
09:06 Yes, I have been keeping track.
09:08 It's probably pretty much the second thing I do in the morning,
09:12 pray and then look at the heat and score.
09:15 And I saw that we lost, unfortunately.
09:18 And I would have loved to sweep the Celtics,
09:21 but I have very much confidence in my team and Jimmy Bell.
09:25 That we will make it to the finals.
09:28 I have a funny story about Jimmy Butler,
09:30 but I'm going to save it until the finals.
09:33 I don't want to jinx it.
09:35 So I'll save it for another day for you guys.
09:38 Okay.
09:40 Okay.
09:42 I demand to hear the Jimmy Butler story right now.
09:44 No, I'm just kidding.
09:46 I don't want to jinx it.
09:48 I'm just shining.
09:50 I was watching you practice the other day.
09:54 With Patrick on Matube.
09:56 And clearly you were trying to work out the bugs in your forehand.
10:00 Do you know what's wrong with it?
10:02 And the second part of that question is,
10:05 if you've got, okay, the tournament starts this weekend.
10:08 If you've got an hour on a practice court,
10:11 how do you figure out how much time to spend on your strengths
10:16 instead of something that's troubling you?
10:20 I mean, yeah.
10:23 I mean, obviously the forehand is something that I have to improve on.
10:26 But on clay especially, I feel like it's one of my weapons.
10:30 Last year, I mean, I've won a lot of points using that heavy forehand.
10:34 And I think that's something that I continue to do this year.
10:38 Regarding the strengths and the things that I guess what I would do an hour,
10:42 I mean, I think that's part of the part of adulthood, I guess.
10:47 I'm used to being told what to do and I just do it.
10:51 So I guess now I'm trying to find,
10:53 and I think Patrick and in previous coaches want me to be more vocal
10:57 about my game and about what I want to do.
10:59 I'm just used to doing what I'm told.
11:02 I think that's what made me a good student in tennis.
11:04 But obviously to make it to that next level, I have to do the things.
11:08 So I would say it's whatever my coach tells me.
11:11 I mean, right now I feel like my forehand is a strength on clay.
11:15 In all my practice matches, obviously I have the advantage.
11:20 I know where they're going to play me,
11:21 which is a lot of some players don't know that.
11:24 I know exactly what they're going to do.
11:26 And now it's all about executing it.
11:28 So I guess in a way I'm using it more as a strength.
11:31 I mean, obviously it's something I need to work on,
11:33 but I have to work on everything.
11:35 My last match, I think I obviously hit my forehand well.
11:39 I think the backhand was the problem in my last match.
11:41 So I wouldn't say the backhand, but a lot of mistakes on that side.
11:45 So it's something that I'm working on and we'll see.
11:49 I feel pretty confident going into this tournament,
11:51 regardless of how other people view my game.
11:54 But none of that matters when I step on the court.