'Flag Doesn't Add Any Pressure': Gauff On Facing Compatriot Keys In Eastbourne

| by Zlatko Vodenicharov

Coco Gauff will try and book another final this year and she will need to go through compatriot Madison Keys at the 2023 Eastbourne International to do so.

Gauff started off this year by going to a final. It was the Auckland final and she ended up with the trophy, beating Rebeka Masarova in the final. There weren't any finals since then, at least not in singles so a chance to book another one is a big deal for Gauff.

While a rather consistent player for much of her career, Gauff doesn't have many finals in her career so far. She played in four winning three of them as the only loss was the biggest one - the Roland Garros final last year. To get to the final, she'll face a familiar player in Madison Keys. An American is guaranteed in the final and Gauff is determined that it will be her.

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I mean, really determined. The flag doesn't add any other pressure. Yeah, and it's great that women's tennis in our country is doing well and the men are doing well too. I think it's an exciting time to be a player from the U.S. playing and also being a fan.

Gauff on facing a fellow American

Gauff and Keys played a few times already with Gauff leading the H2H 2-1 on the WTA Tour. The first one was last year and was won by Keys. Months later, Gauff exacted her revenge beating Keys at the US Open. The one this year in Dubai was also won by Gauff, so she has figured out how to play against Keys after the initial loss.

She just needs to translate that to grass. It's been somewhat shaky this year with a bad loss in Berlin which is a motivating factor in turning things around. A win over Pegula certainly should give her a confidence boost and the determination to make a milestone 5th career final is certainly added motivation as well.

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