Teenage sensation Coco Gauff may have reached her first Grand Slam semifinal, but that has not made the American overconfident or make her lose her grip on reality.
The attention on Gauff has been fairly constant since she became known to the tennis world during her run to the fourth round of Wimbledon as a 15-year-old. That remains an incredible achievement to this day.
However, it also created some completely unrealistic expectations. Gauff was always going to need time to develop further, including some periods where she endured some difficult results.
To Gauff's credit, she has been a very positive role model despite all the attention on her. Her progress as a player is now clear after defeating her compatriot Sloane Stephens to reach the semifinal.
After that triumph, the 18-year-old spoke about striking the right balance between having dreams, but also staying in reality and enjoying the present.
"It's important that you have high hopes for yourself, but also, at the same time, it's important to be in reality and I think that's where I am. I'm in reality where I'm enjoying the moment and enjoying the situation."
The teenager also admitted that she was too focused on fulfilling others' expectations in the past. Now, Gauff likes to focus more on what a good person she is and spread that positive message to others.
"Last year I was too focused on trying to fulfil other people's expectations. No matter how good or bad my career is, I think I'm a great person, so I think that's a message for all young players out here. Your results, or how much money you make doesn't define you as a person."
These remarks demonstrate how remarkably mature Gauff is for an 18-year-old. It seems clear that attitude is going to help her have a great career.