Coco Gauff: “I’m gonna give her the benefit of the doubt. I’m sure it was an emotional day, emotional match,” Gauff said of her opponent’s comments about Gauff’s victory
Coco Gauff is responding to her French Open opponent Aryna Sabalenka’s comments about their final face-off on Saturday, June 7.
Sabalenka lost to Gauff, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, during their final at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris. After the game, Sabalenka, 27, told reporters that Gauff, 21, “won the match not because she played incredible,” but because “I made all of those mistakes.”
After facing critiques for her comments, Sabalenka issued a statement on Instagram the next day, saying, “Yesterday was a tough one. Coco handled the conditions much better than I did and fully deserved the win.”
“She was the better player yesterday, and I want to give her the credit she earned,” she wrote. “You all know me… I’m always going to be honest and human in how I process these moments. I made over 70 unforced errors, so I can’t pretend it was a great day for me.
Then on Monday, June 9, Gauff appeared on Good Morning America and briefly chatted about Sabalenka’s reaction to Gauff’s win.
“I know she was probably a bit emotional after that match and it was a tough loss,” Gauff said, adding, “I was a little bit surprised about the comments and everything, but I’m gonna give her the benefit of the doubt. I’m sure it was an emotional day, emotional match.”
“When I stepped on the court, I was aware of the wind,” Gauff said of the weather conditions on Saturday.
“We both practiced with the roof closed, so I honestly wanted the roof to be closed before the match because my quarterfinal and semi — it was closed, and I thought I was playing good tennis.”
Gauff continued, “But when I found out it was open, I saw how windy it was on the court, I knew it was gonna be an ugly win.”
“I had to force her to play that way and make a lot of balls and put those balls in the court,” Gauff said, acknowledging that Sabalenka is “a tough opponent” and a “fighter.”
Gauff was the first American woman to win the French Open since Serena Williams’ 2015 victory.
“I never dreamt about winning a tournament before in my life and I still haven’t, and that was the only time I had a dream about winning one,” Gauff candidly told GMA.
“I just always thought that this tournament, like, just had to happen. … So I wrote it down and instilled in my head. It was one of the last things I said to myself before I went on the court.”
While Gauff is excited about her recent win, she’s looking forward to Wimbledon, which will begin on Monday, June 30, and conclude on Sunday, July 13.
“I think the main piece of advice everyone’s told me is to take it in and soak it in, and then when it’s time to get back to work, get back to work,” she said.
“But I’m always looking ahead, so I am ready to get back and start training for Wimbledon and try to pull that off. But yeah, for now, I’m definitely trying to soak it in.”
