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Former American tennis player Tracy Austin expressed high hopes for Coco Gauff, stating that the young sensation would clinch the first Grand Slam title of her career sooner rather than later.
Gauff's rise to the top has been nothing short of exceptional. The American has had a dominating presence at the top level from a very young age, having secured her first WTA title aged just 15 years and 7 months. While she has been compared to the likes of Serena Williams, a Grand Slam title is what separates the two. Williams won her first Major when she was just 18 years old, whereas Gauff is yet to clinch one.
However, Austin reflected on Gauff's massive potential and stated that she will win a Grand Slam "pretty soon."
"If Coco was a stock, I'm gonna buy. Coco's gonna win her first Major pretty soon. Most important thing we need to remember is she's only 18. We've seen such great improvement in her game," the 60-year-old conveyed.
While the former World No. 1 acknowledged that the pressure to live up to the expectations of fans and the media got to Gauff early in her career, she asserted that the young player has now learned to deal with such external voices.
"I think the fans and the media and maybe even Coco for a while were in a big hurry. But now, I think she recognizes that it's tough to break into top 10. She's now No. 6. Tough to get that first Major under your belt. She did that last year at Roland Garros," Austin stated.
"A real student of the game" - Tracy Austin on Coco Gauff
Tracy Austin reckons that Coco Gauff is a "real student of the game" as she feels the young player takes a constant effort to learn from her past mistakes.
She recollected Gauff's words from the 2023 Australian Open after her fourth-round defeat against Jelena Ostapenko, where the American stated that she would watch a video of the match and break things down to reflect on the aspects that went wrong.
"She [Coco Gauff] seems to be a real student of the game. Even after that Ostapenko match, she talked about wanting to go watch that video and break it down," Austin opined.
