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After her triumph, Coco Gauff shared how online trolls "put the fire" in her to do well in the 2023 US Open final and helped her win her maiden Grand Slam title.
The American turned the tide in her favor following a disastrous Wimbledon campaign, in which she lost in the first round. Since then, Gauff has won titles at the Citi Open and the Cincinnati Open.
Competing against Aryna Sabalenka at the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium, Coco Gauff rallied from a set down to beat the Belarusian 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Speaking to the media in the post-match press conference, Gauff said she was relieved following her maiden Major victory. The 19-year-old lost the 2022 French Open final against Iga Swiatek, and hence the New York title came as a relief.
"Oh, 100% a lot of relief," Gauff said. "It's not the biggest emotion. I think it's honestly the smallest one, and I think that was what the difference was between French Open and now, I feel like the relief. If I would have maybe won that title -- obviously I didn't -- it would have been the biggest emotion, more than happiness, more than excitement."
"Right now, I'm just feeling happiness and a very, very small bit of relief. Because honestly, at this point, I was doing it for myself and not for other people," she added.
Gauff also said that she was gradually embracing all the criticism as well as the appreciation poured on her over the last few months. She added that she was extremely stubborn and wouldn't just ignore all the trolls targeting her.
"Yeah, I have just been embracing every positive and negative thing that's said about me. I realize, you know, sometimes people have different personalities and some people need to shut off the comments and not look at them. But I'm an argumentative person. I'm very stubborn. My parents know. If they tell me one thing, I like to do the other," she said.
Coco Gauff revealed how she looked up the internet before the final and read a few comments that predicted her loss.
"So I really told myself, literally up until, like, 10 minutes before the match, I was just reading comments of people saying I wasn't going to win today. That just put the fire in me," she added.
Coco Gauff became the first American teenager to win a Grand Slam singles title this century
Coco Gauff etched her name in the record books by winning the 2023 US Open title on Saturday, September 9. The American has been in tremendous form on hardcourts following her first-round loss at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. Since her Wimbledon loss, Gauff has lost only one match — to Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open.
Coco Gauff also became the first American teenager to win a Grand Slam singles title this century. The last person to do it was tennis icon Serena Williams. The 23-time Grand Slam winner won her maiden Grand Slam title — the 1999 US Open — at the age of 17.
Despite losing the final, Sabalenka will dethrone Iga Swiatek from the top spot of the WTA singles rankings on Monday. The Belarusian won the Australian Open earlier this year.
