"I can never dislike him, he's a nice person" - Gauff on friendship with Kyrgios

| by Alfredo Bassanelli

Nick Kyrgios and Coco Gauff both have a very good season so far and at the 2022 US Open, they are both one of the favourites to win the tournament.

The 18-years-old American met 9 years older colleague from the ATP Tour already five years ago when they practiced together in Miami. Coco Gauff remembers this and that's also one of the reason why she stated that she can never dislike Nick Kyrgios. According to many, the Australian is a controversial person, but women's doubles world number 1, sees things differently, especially thanks to knowing him in person.

"Overall, I think he's a nice person. At least he's always been to me. I remember I first hit with him, he probably doesn't remember this, I was 13 years old at Miami Open. He finished his practice, hit with me for, like, 30 minutes," Coco Gauff said. "It's just things like that that stands out for me. That's why I feel like I can never dislike him because constantly when I see him around, he's always saying hello."

WATCH: "You’re stealing points from us" - Gauff & Pegula furious after call by umpire
WATCH: "You’re stealing points from us" - Gauff & Pegula furious after call by umpire

"Again, when I was 14 at Miami Open again, he finished a two-hour practice. I think with Frances Tiafoe. I remember saying, There's no way he's going to want to hit with me," Coco Gauff said. "Just grind it out for two hours. He actually stayed and hit with me for an hour again."

"It's just moments like that that people don't really see about him. So I think people paint him as a bad guy. I feel around the grounds, at least my experience of him, he's not," Coco Gauff said. "I think, in the end it helped me in the long run as a player hitting with him. He told me good things about my game. At that time I'm like, Nick Kyrgios thinks I'm a good player. You start to believe that and gain confidence in that."

Kyrgios dominant to set up possible Medvedev matchup at US Open
Kyrgios dominant to set up possible Medvedev matchup at US Open

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