Coco Gauff Shares What She Used to Do When Rafael Nadal Practiced at the Same Tournament as Her

Coco Gauff secured her place in the second round of the French Open after beating Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 6-2 in the French Open

Coco Gauff Shares What She Used to Do When Rafael Nadal Practiced at the Same Tournament as Her

Coco Gauff and Rafael Nadal (via X/The Tennis Letter)

Rafael Nadal is undoubtedly one of the greatest players to ever grace the sport. The Spaniard’s style of play and resilience on the court are an example for young and old players. After Coco Gauff’s first-round win in Roland Garros, she revealed what she admired about Nadal each time she saw him in training.

Nadal retired from professional tennis at the Davis Cup Finals in November last year after winning a mind-blowing 22 Grand slams, 14 of them at the Roland Garros, with a 112-4 record. The former World No.1 is regarded by far as the greatest clay-court player in the Open Era having won 63 titles on the red dirt.

The 38-year-old was given a special tribute ceremony at the Roland Garros for his great achievements. His footprint was immortalized at the Court Philippe-Chatrier, where he first won the French Open at the age of 19 and last won at 36. Off the court, Nadal has had a lasting effect on young players.

Several of them have praised him for his humility off the court. One of them, Gauff, who is a big fan of Nadal, has always praised the Spaniard. The American has done brilliantly this season, reaching the Madrid and Italian Open finals despite not getting her hands on the title.

After her straight-set victory against Olivia Gadecki in the first round of the Roland Garros, she was asked what was her favorite trait of Nadal. She revealed that his resilience and intensity are her favorites and that she would always sit to watch him during his practice in the same tournament.

Definitely resilience. I think that he has so much resilience and the intensity. He was my favorite person to watch practice. I would just sit and literally watch him practice, just rally because it was so intense. I try to do the same, but obviously, he’s one of the greatest people to practice, the GOAT on clay. The legacy that he’s left not only in Roland Garros but all over the world of tennis is insane. I’m just glad that I was able to play a little bit on tour at the same time as him.

Rafael Nadal has become synonymous with the tournament because of his incredibly consistent performance there. Since his last win in 2022, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz have claimed the title in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Coco Gauff reveals the reason for her struggle in the first round in Roland Garros

Coco Gauff produced a comprehensive performance to beat Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the French Open. However, the World No.2 still served up seven double faults and 22 unforced errors, hitting just 15 winners. The performance was a little better than the Italian Open final but it had the same type of errors.

Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

After the match, she admitted to usually feeling nervous ahead of her first-round match at a Grand Slam event. She added that weather conditions also made it difficult for her to be at her best on the court.

I knew the conditions were going to be difficult. It’s kind of one of those matches I went into knowing it wasn’t going to be pretty tennis all the time. I think it just, with that mindset going in, it just makes you feel better necessarily when you aren’t winning the points the way you kind of want to.

Gauff will now face Tereza Valentova in the second round of the French Open. She has an opportunity to win the French Open having reached back-to-back finals on clay heading to the tournament. Also, her best run in the clay-court Grand Slam was in 2022, when she reached the final but lost to Iga Swiatek in straight sets.

Also Read: Corentin Moutet Believes He Will End Novak Djokovic’s Quest for 25th Grand Slam in the Second Round of the Roland Garros