Coco Gauff mentioned a few times that she takes inspiration from fellow players like Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz after her second-round win at the 2023 US Open.
The two ATP stars achieved some things, which the American looks to do as well. Djokovic and Alcaraz were number one players and won Grand Slams, which have eluded Gauff so far. She takes inspiration from the way they approach tennis, hoping to reach the same heights on the WTA Tour.
Speaking after her most recent win over Mirra Andreeva, Gauff explained what she took from them, and it's not any tennis shot. It's mostly the mentality and how they approach matches when they don't have their best tennis at their disposal.
The thing I've learned the most is how they're able to handle the situations when they're not playing their best tennis. For instance, Carlos in Cincinnati, he was losing a set every match pretty much and he wasn't playing his best, that was clear. The way that he was still smiling, for me, against Hubi Hurkacz and he was down a set and a break or something like that, I don't know, he was down crazy or down match points.
He was still smiling. I was, like, if he can smile, he's No. 1 in the world and he has all this pressure, he's supposed to beat Hubi on paper, then I can do it in situations maybe where, most of the time now I'm not the underdog, but against, for example, like Iga or Sabalenka, those where I'm considered the underdog on paper, I can smile too.
The joy is indeed something that separates Alcaraz from many other players. He's enjoying every moment of it as it's not a job or chore. It's A game, and he's just a big kid playing a game he likes to play. It's a pretty good attitude to have, and it's something Gauff was inspired by.
I think I learned the most about their joy in matches and how I can transfer that. Because I have a lot of joy in me but I just seem to bottle it up when I play. Now I'm really just having fun and laughing and smiling, and I think it's making tennis more enjoyable.
0 Comments