Tennis - US Open 2024 - Coco Gauff : "My aunt says she came up with calling me Coco"
Coco Gauff ne pouvait pas mieux lancer son US Open 2024. Tenante du titre, l'Américaine a été sans pitié envers Varvara Gracheva. En à peine plus d'une heure, Gauff a balayé la Française 6-2, 6-0. Dans le doute au mois d'août, après des Jeux Olympiques de Paris ratés, la jeune joueuse a visiblement relancé la machine et peut légitimement avoir de belles ambitions à la maison. En tout cas, celle qui affrontera Tatjana Maria veut se libérer de la pression de la défense de titre.
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00:00Yeah, I thought I played well today. I served well. I can't ask for a better start into
00:08this tournament, so I'm hoping to continue to get better as the two weeks go by.
00:14Okay, thank you. Questions, name and affiliation, please, David.
00:17Hi, Coco. David Hall from the Tennis Podcast. I read the quote, I think, from the court
00:23where you said a week ago you would not have expected necessarily to feel like you did
00:28out there today. Can you put your finger on why that is? What's changed?
00:35Perspective, and I think just realizing that there's probably more pressure on, I don't
00:42know, maybe trying to win one, and then maybe if you've never been defending one, I guess.
00:48I don't know. Honestly, just perspective. The last couple weeks were tough, and I was
00:53like, I have to do this and do that, but I'm like, I don't have to prove anything
00:58to anyone except myself, and so this whole week is just, or two weeks, are just about
01:02proving all the expectations that I have on myself. So, yeah, I think just learning and
01:10just realizing I have a lot left to give this game, and whether it's going to happen this
01:15year or in the future, I have many more years coming back here, and I'm not going to win
01:19every year. So, I think just that perspective, and just having the belief that I can, but
01:24not the expectation that I should.
01:27Just a reminder, no still shooting from the seats. Larry?
01:31Larry Brooks from the New York Post. Ben Shelton was asked about how he felt about you and
01:37he opening Ashe, and he said it was cool, he said, but I think it was really cool for
01:42Coco. So, I'm wondering, you know, what's so cool for you?
01:47He's the one who opened, I followed him. No, I was, you know, anytime I get the opportunity
01:54to play on Ashe, it's a cool experience. I remember, I think two years ago, I got like
01:58my first win on the court, and you know, I remember the first time I played on this court,
02:04I think it was against Naomi at a night session, and you know, just seeing how far I've come
02:09from that moment, and it's incredible to always play on this court, day or night. Obviously,
02:14the night sessions are a little bit more nerve-wracking, I think, but opening the court to Americans,
02:21to young ones doing well, it means a lot, and yeah, I'm very honored.
02:26Matt?
02:27What were your, I mean, what are your feelings, sorry, I guess two questions. What are your
02:33feelings as you're walking onto the court, and what are you thinking, what's going through
02:37your mind, and sort of in addition to that, did you surprise yourself with your level?
02:43Yeah.
02:44I heard you referencing that initially.
02:47The first feeling was there was like, it's been like a thing between like people, like
02:51when I wave or not, like between me and Ben, because he said I didn't, I didn't wave during
02:56the mixed madness, so I like walked on court, and I initially like waved, and then I got
03:00nervous because I saw how big the crowd was, and then I looked down, so that was my like
03:04honest thoughts, but then once I started the warm-up, I was fine, and I wasn't surprised
03:10about my level, because I was practicing really well this week, it was a really good practice
03:14week, so honestly, I was just telling myself that I'm ready, that, you know, I had a great
03:18practice week, I feel like I'm finding my game, whereas the other two tournaments that
03:22I played at, even the practice sessions that I were doing, I just, you know, it was just
03:26some, I just felt off, so this week, I just felt like I was really finding my game, so
03:31I was confident going in today, I was like, I knew, based on how I was practicing, I can
03:35find my game, regardless of the score line, then it's just about executing.
03:40Howard, Adam, Bill, Howard.
03:44Coco, is there something that lets you know when you start a match, that I found my game,
03:51that whatever you felt good about during practice is translating on to the court during a match
03:57when it matters?
03:58Yeah, I think just execution, I mean, you know, decision making, too, I think sometimes,
04:05you know, I could rush out of points faster than I need, and then there's, there was times
04:10where I feel like in Cincinnati, where, I don't know, it was just so weird that shots
04:13I didn't feel like I could make with my eyes closed, I was just missing, and today I was
04:16making those shots, I was like, okay, I know, and the ball's going like where I want it
04:21to go, so I was like, okay, I feel, I feel good, and usually, you know, that, you know,
04:25that first round, for me, can sometimes set the tone for a tournament, whether you're
04:29playing well or not, but just kind of the mentality going in, so I think I had a good
04:33mentality, you know, is this going to say I'm going to play great the next couple matches?
04:38Yes or no, but I think the mentality I have going into this week will be there, and hopefully
04:43the execution stays there.
04:45You look like you were wearing an Olympic rings necklace, is that something, can you
04:51tell us how you got it, is it new, had you worn it before?
04:55Yeah, Desiree Krajak actually gifted the whole team these necklaces, or we had to twice pin
05:00a necklace or ring, I wish I could remember the brand, you have to ask her, and then usually
05:06I try to wear a necklace during like the whole tournament, last year I think I wore like
05:09a locket type necklace, and I was like, well, I just came off the Olympics and was a flag
05:14bearer, so I was like, I might as well flex that, so I wore the Olympic, yeah, and some
05:18people get the tattoos, I don't know if I'm committed to a tattoo yet, so I was like,
05:22I'll do the necklace.
05:23Okay, Adam.
05:24Hi, Coco, I was wondering if you saw that Cooper Flagg signed with New Balance, with
05:28the New Balance family, he's expected to be the number one pick in the NBA draft next
05:33year, goes to Duke, I was just wondering what you thought about that, if you knew anything
05:37about him?
05:38Yeah, I know who he is, I didn't know he signed with New Balance, was that announced like
05:41today?
05:42Today, okay, okay, I haven't been online today, I'm like, I usually am up to par with all
05:47the announcements, so that's really cool, I know New Balance is trying to get more into
05:51basketball, so that's really exciting, deciding to have another person part of the family,
05:57and I'm excited to see him do great things, and hopefully I get to meet him.
06:01Have you seen him play at all?
06:03Briefly, I don't really watch college basketball only in March Madness, so I guess I'll watch
06:10more next year, I'm sure I'll see more of him, but yeah, I've only seen like just a
06:16little bit, but I don't watch so much college, only March Madness.
06:21Bill?
06:22Hi Coco, so it was mentioned earlier that Ben was asked, you know, why is Coco Gough
06:30so appealing, and I kind of thought he'd say, oh, she's so charismatic, or she's this great
06:37athlete, but he started, oh, she's named Coco, what a great name, and kudos to her parents,
06:44and so forth.
06:45Yeah, because I make fun of him because his real name is Benjamin, I mean, Ben Schultz
06:50is a pretty solid athlete name.
06:54Yeah, he said it was okay, but anyway, my question, you might not want to answer it,
07:01but what has it been like having the name Coco, is it kind of fun, and has it helped
07:07you, do you have any fun stories, or a fun story you can share about that?
07:11Yeah, well, my real name is Corey, so like every time I like check into hotels, or like
07:17people at the airport, or like they look at my ID, and they're like, either obviously
07:22the airport you book under your real name, but you know, the person sometimes will recognize
07:26me, and they'll be like, wait, are you Coco, I'm like, yeah, it's just a nickname, like
07:29I'm not somebody that just looks like her, and then the hotel, like sometimes like, well,
07:34we don't have your room, and I'm like, it's probably under Coco, not Corey, and then they'll
07:39like do that, but my dad's name is Corey, and so I guess, you know, they didn't want
07:45me to get my dad, and me confused, and my mom was like yelling at one of us in the house,
07:49so Coco, there's like two stories, my aunt says she came up with calling me Coco, but
07:56then my dad said when he was younger, people used to call me Co, so then he was like, I'll
08:00call my daughter Coco, so I don't know which story is actually true, but they both get
08:05pretty mad if I don't say both of them, so I just say that.
08:10Jim Truesdell, Wall Street Journal.
08:14This year, they're letting fans go to their seats in between games and not changeovers.
08:20Have you noticed that?
08:21Was that something that players talked about, and does it bother you when fans are walking
08:25around when you're playing, and do you think other tournaments should do this?
08:29Yeah, it doesn't really bother me.
08:31I mean, there's sometimes maybe somebody's wearing like a white shirt or something, so
08:35only today I told my opponent to wait for like a second for this person to sit down,
08:39but usually it doesn't bother me.
08:44Sometimes it is weird when there's so many people, because then there's like people coming
08:46on the side, and then the back, and that, but I think, I mean, for me, whatever, fan
08:51experience, I think it's fine.
08:54I think umpires are pretty accommodating when players want to wait, they sit down or not,
08:59so I think that's all that matters, as long as the umpires stay accommodating when players
09:03want to wait, because everybody has their preference, and it is sometimes difficult,
09:06depending on the color of somebody's shirt, that you lose the ball when they toss it up
09:10as a returner.
09:12Maybe not a server, I don't think it bothers you as much, but only a returner, you can
09:15lose the ball sometimes when they toss it up, so it's kind of just your preference.
09:19Sometimes I continue to play, and sometimes I don't, but I can kind of tell before, so
09:24I think the fan experience is important, and those three games sometimes go like 20 minutes,
09:28so I think it's a great thing.
09:30I think umpires have been accommodating, and I think as long as they continue, I think
09:34it won't be a problem amongst players and fans.
09:36Okay, last two.
09:37Young Lady, and then Willie.
09:39Molly Walker, New York Post, hi Coco.
09:41Especially when you consider your last couple of weeks, does a start like this do anything
09:46for you going forward, or do you try to stay even-keeled?
09:50I think even-keeled, just focusing on the match in front of me, and not looking too
09:53far ahead or too far behind, obviously, you know, getting through the first round like
09:57this is good, and last year I had three sets in my first round here, so it kind of, it
10:04really doesn't matter.
10:05I mean, I've learned that you can start a tournament, it doesn't mean that you're necessarily
10:09going to finish, and vice versa, so I think just staying in the moment.
10:13Willie, last question.
10:14I have to follow up.
10:16How did you feel about the name Coco as a little kid, and how do you feel about it now?
10:20I mean, it's obviously great.
10:22One thing I, you know, as a kid, I guess, you're a kid, so I was just like, whatever,
10:26that's my name.
10:27I think now it's kind of cool, because whenever you're on Tennis, I look on Tennis Channel
10:30or ESPN, sometimes they refer to most tennis players by their last name, but me, they refer
10:36based off my first name, because I think just golf is just weird, so I think they usually
10:41just put Coco, so I think it's cool to be known kind of off a first name basis in the
10:47tennis world, at least, and I think maybe because Coco is just so easy and recognizable,
10:51people like it more than using my last name, which kind of just sounds like a sport.
10:55So, yeah.