“I know that compared to three years ago there are definitely a lot more people expecting me to win” - Coco Gauff after her Wimbledon 2R win
Coco Gauff is through to the third round of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships after her straight-sets win over Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu on Thursday. The American needed just 80 minutes to beat Buzarnescu 6-2, 6-3 on a packed Centre Court.
In the first set, the 18-year-old broke Buzarnescu in the fourth game and won the fifth with an amazing 122 mph serve. She then bettered that with a 124 mph effort in the second set, which made it the two fastest serves of the women's tournament this year. Gauff did not face a single break and won 85% of her first-serve points.
Speaking in her post-match on-court interview, the World No. 12 spoke about dealing with expectations and playing on the iconic Centre Court.
“Yes and no [on feeling the expectations of everyone in these two weeks]. I know that compared to three years ago there are definitely a lot more people expecting me to win but I think 15-year-old me would be proud that I'm still playing on Centre Court,” Coco Gauff said.
Breathtaking.
Centre Court goes wild after @CocoGauff's incredible winner on the run 💨
#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 https://t.co/ipsG25Sc10
Gauff said that Wimbledon will always be special for her as it was at the grass Major that her career took off a few years ago, referring to her defeat of Venus Williams in her maiden Grand Slam match in 2019.
“This tournament was definitely the start of everything for me, so it is always special and playing on this court I think is probably one of the greatest privileges that I have ever gotten a chance to do and I'm glad that I can keep doing it and thank you guys again for all the support,” Gauff said.
The Roland-Garros finalist added that for the first time in her career she wasn’t nervous walking out on Centre Court.
“I wasn’t nervous going on the court. I think this was the first time I walked on Centre Court and wasn’t nervous. So, I don't know if that's from experience,” Gauff said, adding, “Honestly, when a schedule came out I was shocked that we were on Centre Court. I honestly didn't think I would play on this court until maybe like the quarters or semis, if I made it that far. So I'm pretty honored to be on Centre Court today, especially following [Rafael] Nadal. I think that's pretty special too.”
Gauff will take on compatriot Amanda Anisimova in the third round. Anisimova will be playing her first third-round match at Wimbledon after she beat Lauren Davis 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 earlier in the day.
Rafael Nadal heaps praise on Coco Gauff
Speaking at his post-match press conference after his second-round victory over Ricardas Berankis, Rafael Nadal praised Coco Gauff and predicted that she would win multiple Grand Slams in her career.
“I like her, the way that she talks to the crowd, to the press at the end of the matches. She's fresh. She's natural. Looks very mature in her thoughts. I think she is a fighter. I like the way that she plays. She fights for every ball. Even sometimes when she's not playing that well, she keeps fighting until the end, running for every ball,” Nadal said.
“I think, if she's able just to improve a little bit with this physical performance that she has, probably we'll talk about the player that she will be [a] multi-Grand Slam winner,” he added.