Coco Gauff has credited Serena Williams and Venus Williams following her round of 32 win at the San Diego Open on Wednesday.
Gauff, competing for the first time since losing in the quarterfinals of the 2022 US Open, defeated fellow American teenager Robin Montgomery in what was her first career match against an opponent younger than herself.
The more experienced 18-year-old came out on top, winning the match 6-3, 6-3 to progress to the next round. Speaking after her win, Gauff stated that both Montgomery and herself were products of the Williams sisters' legacy.
"I mean, it definitely affects the future a lot. I think if Serena and Venus saw this today, two 18-year-olds, both African Americans, playing on the WTA 500 level, I think they'll be proud and I think both of us are products of their legacy," she said.
Gauff also added that she was grateful to have such examples to follow growing up and hoped to inspire the next generation like the Williams sisters did.
"I'm grateful that I had those examples to follow after and I hope that I can maybe be an example myself," she said.
Incidentally, Venus Williams recently revealed that her parents pushed “definitely pushed history” on both herself and her sister Serena Williams.
“For us, it was always important to know where you are, who you are because if you don’t know who you are, you won’t know where you’re going. But most of all, if you don’t know who you are in your history, you’ll have no idea what you need to do to be ready for the world,” she said.
“That was so important and my parents definitely pushed history on us; to know the history of the world and history of African-Americans was super important,” she added.
Coco Gauff takes on Bianca Andreescu in last 16 at San Diego Open
Following her straight-sets win over Robin Montgomery, Coco Gauff will take on Canada's 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in the round of 16 at the San Diego Open. The pair have never faced each other before and will lock horns with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.
Gauff is expecting an "interesting matchup" as she believes Andreescu is an aggressive opponent.
"I think [Andreescu] is a very aggressive player. We all know she likes to step into the court and take balls early. I think it's going to be an interesting matchup," Coco Gauff said.
The winner of this match will face either World No. 1 Iga Swiatek or Qinwen Zheng in the third round.
In addition to the San Diego Open title, Gauff also has qualification for the WTA Finals on the line this week. She is very close to qualifying for the event in the singles (where she is currently No. 4 in the singles race) and doubles (Jessica Pegula and Gauff are No. 5 in the doubles race). She can achieve one, or both, if she makes a deep run at the Barnes Tennis Center.
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