12th seed Gauff was at her dominant best in her singles opener against the French player, winning 6-2, 6-3 without breaking a sweat. Gauff, who is the World No. 1 in doubles, will start her US Open doubles campaign on Wednesday alongside Jessica Pegula.
Moments after her singles win on Monday, the 18-year-old quickly realized that it was her first win at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and expressed the same to her team during her on-court victory celebrations.
She then returned to the venue during the night session, but this time as a spectator for 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams’ first match in what is expected to be her final career tournament.
After Williams’ opening round win, Gauff took to social media to celebrate a great day in which she won her match and saw “The GOAT” play.
The second-seeded pairing of Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula will kick off their doubles campaign against Leylah Fernandez/Daria Gavrilova.
Coco Gauff hails her heroes, Serena and Venus Williams
After her win on Monday, Coco Gauff spoke about her journey and the impact Serena and Venus Williams have had on her life and career. Gauff explained that she gained inspiration from watching the Williams sisters overcome many challenges to reach great heights in tennis. That gave Gauff the belief that she could make it big in the sport as well and hopes she can play a similar role for someone in the future.
Gauff spoke about the importance of having heroes to look up to during her post-match press conference at the US Open.
Gauff further named the likes of LeBron James, Simone Biles, and Allyson Felix as other athletes who have inspired her.
Gauff will take on Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the second round on Wednesday.
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