Gauff: US Open Final Gave Me More Fire
By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, October 5, 2021Coco Gauff is more than a Top 20 player—she's a big tennis fan too.The 17-year-old Gauff tuned into last month's US Open final and was turned on by what she saw.More: Zverev Under Investigation for Domestic AbuseGauff said she was both impressed and inspired watching 18-year-old Emma Raducanu defeat 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez to make history as the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam singles title."It was definitely inspiring for me especially since I’m younger than both of them," Gauff told the media at Indian Wells ahead of her BNP Paribas Open debut. "I think for me it just shows how much a year makes a difference and what I can hopefully do next year."The 19th-ranked Gauff said she was most impressed by the poise and passion both Raducanu and Fernandez displayed—and the final infused her with the fire and desire to try to reach her maiden major final."For me it was great to see two competitors who just love the game," Gauff said. "They were both not so much in the media big before they started the tournament. Obviousy Leylah had more success on the pro tour just because she played more matches than Emma. But it was great to see how you wouldn’t even see that when watching the matches. You would think that they’d been on the stage for 20 years or 30 years or however long their opponents are playing these tournaments for."For me it was great to see that and also it gave me a little bit of fire to believe if they can do it then I can do it too."
Of course, Gauff made a major charge on the red clay of Roland Garros in June building a 5-3 lead over eventual-champion Barbora Krejcikova in the quarterfinals. A calm Krejcikova fought off five set points in the first set then surged through 15 straight points in the second stopping Gauff 7-6(6), 6-3 battling into her first Grand Slam single semifinal.