Coco Gauff reacts to Hollywood star Samuel L. Jackson's praise - "I saw that and I freaked out a little bit"
Coco Gauff has gushed about receiving praise for her performances at the 2023 French Open from Hollywood star Samuel L. Jackson.
Gauff came back from a set down in the third round to defeat Mirra Andreeva 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1 in two hours and three minutes on Saturday. The win saw the young American progress to the third round of Roland Garros for the third consecutive year.
Gauff's impressive performance against Russia's Andreeva earned praise from celebrated actor Jackson, who took to social media and wrote:
"Dope display today! Big Up"
🏾
@CocoGauff dope display today! Big Up👊🏾👊🏾‼️💯
A few days earlier, Jackson had also praised Gauff for her straight-sets win over Julia Grabher.
"On to the next one!! See ya next week," he had tweeted.
@CocoGauff On to the next one!! See ya next week👊🏾👊🏾‼️💯
At a Roland Garros press conference, Gauff was asked about receiving praise from the veteran actor and how she felt about it.
The American youngster replied that she was honored to get praise from a "legend" and confessed that she initially freaked out when she saw Jackson's social media posts.
"Samuel L. Jackson is a legend. I really appreciate, I saw that tweet, and I freaked out a little bit. I remember he tweeted about me before during the whole Wimbledon run and that was a cool moment for me. It's cool to say Nick Fury knows I exist. Maybe I'm just going to say I'm Cannon in the Marvel Universe since he tweeted that," she said.
When asked about the movie 'Snakes on a Plane', in which Samuel L. Jackson, was the star, Gauff said that she was a "true Gen Z'er" who has only watched him in the Marvel movies.
"I haven't seen that movie. I'm a true Gen Z'er. I know Samuel obviously for a lot of his films but the most prominent would be, I would say, for the Marvel films for me. I haven't seen that movie. But if I like snakes, they're cool animals. I know they get a bad reputation, but they're pretty, some of them are pretty, but pretty from afar. And planes, I mean, I like to travel," she said.
Coco Gauff sails through to the French Open quarterfinals, will face Iga Swiatek next
Coco Gauff is through to the quarterfinals of the French Open for the second year in a row following her Round of 16 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Monday.
Gauff registered a 1-hour, 31-minute triumph against Schmiedlova in windy conditions on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
In her third career Grand Slam quarterfinal, the 19-year-old American will take on Iga Swiatek, in what is a rematch of last year's final. Gauff has hit a roadblock every time she has faced the World No.1 so far.
The two have faced each other six times so far, with Swiatek winning all of them without dropping a set, including last year's French Open final.
Gauff stated that she has been looking forward to facing Swiatek at the Paris Major since her runner-up finish in 2022.
"Honestly, since last year I have been wanting to play her especially at this tournament. I figured that it was going to happen, because I figured I was going to do well and she was going to do well. Didn't know what side of the draw we were going to be on obviously. ... I think it would be a great battle for us and for the fans, too," she said.