Coco Gauff credits the Williams sisters and LeBron James for inspiring her as she reaches her maiden WTA-1000 final

Gauff beats Swiatek for the first time in 8 attempts.

Coco Gauff credits the Williams sisters and LeBron James for inspiring her as she reaches her maiden WTA-1000 final

From left: LeBron James, Williams Sisters and Coco Gauff (Images via Yahoo Sports/Reuters)

The win over Iga Swiatek in Mason Ohio at the Cincinnati Masters saw Coco Gauff making it to her first-ever WTA 1000 final. It was also the first time she beat World No. 1 Swiatek in eight attempts. She beat the Polish ace in three sets as the final scoreline read 7-6 3-6 6-4.

It wasn’t easy to get through for the young American, but now the victory sees her face Karolina Muchova in the finals. She would love to win the encounter and win her second title in just the last three events she has played. It will be the first WTA 1000 title of her career, which will be a big achievement.

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After her win over Swiatek, she was asked in her chat with the Tennis Channel about who her greatest inspiration is. This is what Gauff had to say, “Definitely the Williams sisters. They are the reason I started playing, watching them fight day in day out. Even Venus starting down 5-1 and coming back to win the contest. They are amazing on and off the court.” She certainly is inspired by both Serena and Venus Williams.

She also mentioned the recent match of Venus when she was 1-5 down against Veronika Kudermetova but still managed to turn it around and win 7-5. “Even LeBron James. People defying him calling him old and saying he can’t comeback. I was thinking when he was down 3-1 and he came back. So if he can do it so can I,” said Gauff. She mentioned basketball legend LeBron James and his example of defying age.

Related: WATCH: Petra Kvitova blushingly credits all her recent success to her coach-cum-husband Jiri Vanek as she continues to soar on the Tour

Coco Gauff having an amazing home season

Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff (Image via Daily Express US)

Gauff has been on a roll in the last month or so. Her North American hard court season hasn’t been better than the one she is in right now. After having a sloppy season all through, Gauff has finally found her feet on the tour this year as she raced through the Citi Open to win that event. She made it to the quarter-finals in Montreal and as she returned to the States, she once again made it to the final.

The biggest highlight of the week was Gauff beating her nemesis, the World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. The final in Cincinnati is going to be her first WTA 1000 final appearance. Can she make her season even better by winning the event? The real icing on the cake would be a deep run in New York next week when she competes in the US Open.

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