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Coco Gauff has shown that she has the temperament to handle the pressure of being a teenage sporting superstar by winning the US Open. That’s according to Rafael Nadal’s coach and uncle, who has admitted to being in awe of the 19-year-old’s ‘remarkable’ approach to dealing with the pressure of expectation.
The American first exploded onto the tennis mainstream when as a 15-year-old, she stunned Wimbledon by first defeating five-time champion Venus Williams before progressing as far as the fourth round.
Gauff reached her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros last year, losing to Iga Swiatek in the French Open final. But she has since gone on to win her first WTA-500 and WTA-1000 titles before becoming the first teenager to win the US Open since 17-year-old Serena Williams beat Martina Hingis in 1999.
The new world No. 3’s Flushing Meadow success is all the more remarkable given that she was dumped out of this year’s Wimbledon Championship in the first round.
But Spanish coach Toni Nadal has nothing but admiration for the way that the young American has proved her class after many had already written her off.
As per Tennis Up to date, Nadal said: “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.
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“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.”
Gauff faced current world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the New York final and lost the first set 2-6 to the Belarusian. But with the advantage of a home crowd roaring her on, the US star fought back to take the next two sets 6-3, 6-2 to claim her maiden major title.
During her victory speech, the American hit back at her doubters, saying: “Those who were putting water on my fire were really putting gasoline on it and now I am burning so bright.”
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