“I literally said, ‘What would Carlos Alcaraz do’,” Coco Gauff reveals taking inspiration from the Spaniard in big matches
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Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff
World No. 12 in singles and newly promoted World No. 1 in doubles, Coco Gauff continues to justify her tag as being one of the most talented players in the women’s circuit. Gauff has already played 3 Grand Slam finals, two in doubles and one in singles. She was in contention to a double in the 2022 French Open as she reached finals in both singles and doubles but was unfortunate to lose both the finals.
Gauff’s recent title win in the 2022 Canadian Open in Toronto along with doubles partner Jessica Pegula saw the American become the second-youngest woman in history to achieve the World No. 1 rank in doubles behind Justine Henin. With consistently improving performances throughout, big things are expected from the teenager and the player has not disappointed.
“People are going to expect things from us,”: Coco Gauff on her and Carlos Alcaraz
While Gauff is rising on the WTA Tour, on the ATP Tour, Carlos Alcaraz is making big strides with the 19-year-old already breaking into the Top 5. With 4 Tour titles this season including two Masters titles this season, the Spaniard is making a big name for himself and Gauff is one of the fans of Alcaraz taking inspiration from him as he became the first player to defeat Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in back-to-back matches on Clay and has been registering big wins against the top-ranked player.
“I’m sure Carlos and I, for the rest of our careers, people are going to expect things from us. You almost have to embrace it. I never spoke to him personally about it, but watching him I feel like he embraces it. I learned a lot from watching him, believe it or not. I would watch him practice all the time and watch him play these matches when he’s playing these big players. I just love the way that he went so big on those shots.
“And then at French Open, that’s what I told myself. I literally said ‘What would Carlos do?’ I’m just going to go big and go for my shots and go for these decisions. I think that Carlos does a great job embracing it. So I feel bad for Montreal, but I’m sure he’s going to turn it around [immediately] because he has greatness in him. That’s not deniable,” said Gauff during the media day at the 2022 Cincinnati Open.
It’s good to see young stars showing respect toward each other and taking inspiration to develop their respective games. Both Gauff and Alcaraz are seeded this week in Cincinnati with the American being the 11th seed taking on Marie Bouzkova in the first round while Alcaraz, the third seed this week, takes on Mackenzie McDonald directly in the second round to start his campaign.
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Sarthak Shitole
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