In a recent interview, Toni Nadal dedicated some words to Coco Gauff's US Open triumph, praising the teenager for her achievement.
Despite being only 19 years old, Gauff has been around competing on the WTA Tour for a while. We've known her since she was 15 years old because that's when she broke out, and watching her grow up and mature as a player has truly been a fascinating journey for many tennis fans.
As a dedicated tennis student, Toni Nadal obviously followed along, and he is quite amazed by her evolution in recent months. He spoke about that to Spanish Newspaper AS, noting her level-headedness during the run and her work ethic to prove everybody who doubted her wrong. The doubtful words actually fueled her.
At the age of 15 she became the youngest player in history to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon. From that moment on, she had to endure the pressure, comparisons and comments of some experts who said that, despite her very young age, she had already reached her peak.
I'm glad that, with tenacity, work and great education, last Saturday she managed to prove them wrong. I don't know her personally, but seeing her celebration full of emotion, she seems to me a very sensible athlete.
You'd find it really hard to find anybody who is a tennis fan and isn't glad that Gauff won the US Open. She's a very likeable player who does everything right and carries herself well. As the uncle of Rafael Nadal, Toni certainly appreciates that.
I also found her statements at the press conference after her triumph in which she downplayed the importance of the pressure she endures very remarkable. She admitted that, of course, she feels it and that normal nerves accompany her, but she added that she is aware of her privileged situation."
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