"New Serena Williams in the making""The US Open is within reach" - Tennis fans over the moon as Coco Gauff wins WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open

Coco Gauff vanquished the challenge of Karolina Muchova to lift the trophy at the 2023 Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati on August 20.

The 19-year-old won the WTA 1000 level tournament, her biggest career title, after beating her Czech opponent in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. She also became the youngest player to win the tournament. Gauff was seeded No. 7 and overcame Mayar Sherif, Linda Noskova, Jasmine Paolini, World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, and Karolina Muchova to win the title in Cincinnati. The victory over Swiatek was her first ever against the Pole in eight meetings.

Tennis fans were over the moon after Gauff emerged victorious. Many compared her to the great Serena Williams and pegged her as the next big star in American tennis. Some believed that Gauff's win in Cincinnati puts her at the top of the list of favorites to win the upcoming US Open.

"Congrats champ. New serena in the making. Congrats," a fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

"Three titles already this year. I truly believe the US Open is within reach for her. Let's go Coco!!" a fan said.

A fan joked that losing to Sofia Kenin in the first round of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships reignited the fire in Coco Gauff, which led her to win the WTA 500 Citi Open in Washington and WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open.

"losing to kenin was her last straw i fear," a X user quipped.

"After that first round exit at Wimbledon earlier this year, Coco has been playing different. We love the new Coco," a happy user stated.

"Mind you, Coco Gauff just won the biggest title of her career just last weekend, and has already topped it. It’s her season!" another fan wrote.

Here are some more fan reactions to Coco Gauff's victory in Cincinnati:

---

Coco Gauff: "I'm going to give it my all in US Open"

Coco Gauff at Cincinnati Open

Coco Gauff will next compete at the US Open, where she will be seeded No. 6. Gauff is being pegged as one of the favorites to lift the Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows in three weeks' time. She has been on the precipice of Grand Slam glory before, reaching the final of the 2022 French Open.

However, Gauff is not putting too much pressure on herself and keeping expectations low for the US Open. She plans to give her best performance in New York and see how things unfold. The young American reached the quarterfinals of the US Open last year.

"I believe in just, I don't know, you give it your all. That's all you can do. I'm going to give it my all in US Open. If things go great, that's exciting. If not, I go back and work hard and get ready for the next one. That's kind of the mentality you have to have," she said in her post-match press conference at Cincinnati Open final.

Gauff was seeded No. 12 last year and reached the final 8 stage. She bettered Leolia Jeanjean, Elena-Gabriela Ruse, No. 20 seed Madison Keys, and Shuai Zhang before losing to Carolina Garcia of France, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinal.