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‘I know that may sound bad, but it kind of helped me’
The comment Coco Gauff made immediately after her first-ever WTA win which she thought may have sounded ‘bad’
Coco Gauff has enjoyed a fantastic career on the WTA Tour, having made her debut at the Miami Open back in 2019.
Gauff was just 15 at the time of her WTA Tour debut, but showed glimpses of what was to come in her first main draw match.
She faced fellow American teenager Catherine McNally, and came from behind to win their Miami Open clash 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Gauff was ranked 456th in the world at the time, but showed little fear at the WTA 1000 hard-court tournament in Miami, where she had been handed a wildcard.
She produced a hard-fought display to really impress those watching on, although her dreams were quickly shattered by Daria Kasatkina in round two.
The ‘bad’ comment Coco Gauff made right after her first-ever win on the WTA Tour
But before Kasatkina defeated Gauff 6-3, 6-2, the American was on hand to express her emotions after that debut win over McNally.
She told reporters afterwards: “I really tried to minimize the moment and just tried to think of it as practice. I know that may sound bad, but it kind of helped me.
“I just kind of put myself in a mindset that, you know, if I don’t stay positive and if I don’t go for my shots, then I’m going to lose. So I just went for it and it ended up helping me in the end.”
And when asked if having a familiar opponent helped keep her grounded, Gauff responded: “Yeah, definitely.
“I played her twice before this, and they were both in juniors. You know, this is a whole different thing for me, but I kind of, again, tried to minimize the moment.
“It kind of helped, obviously, because I knew her tendencies, but also I think it helps her, like, we both kind of had an advantage because we know each other’s games very well.
“I think that anyone could have won today, and I think the match just was really decided by two or three points.”
How Coco Gauff surprised herself with a first WTA win at the 2019 Miami Open