"Coco Gauff took the mic so she could drop it" - Tennis fans in awe as American hits back at naysayers in US Open victory speech
Coco Gauff gave quite the victory speech after winning the 2023 US Open, as she thanked her doubters.
The American came back from a set down to beat Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final and claim her maiden Grand Slam singles title.
While giving her victory speech, Gauff thanked the people who did not believe in her and claimed that they were only adding gas to her fire as she was burning brightly.
"Honestly, thank you to the people who didn't believe me. I mean, like a month ago I won a 500 title and people said I would stop at that. Two weeks ago I won a 1000 title and people were saying that was the biggest it was gonna get. So three weeks later I'm here with this trophy right now," Gauff said.
"I tried my best to carry this with grace and I've been doing my best. So honestly, to those who thought were putting water in my fire, you're really added gas to it. And now, I'm really burning so bright right now," she added.
Several fans lauded Gauff for her words, with one claiming that the American took the mic for her victory speech just so that she could "drop it."
"So it turns out Coco Gauff took the mic so she could DROP IT," the fan's tweet read.
One fan encouraged Gauff to "put her haters in their place".
"Go head, talk your sh*t. Put the haters in their place," the fan posted on X.
Another fan said that Coco Gauff's doubters only "fueled her fire."
"Haters gonna hate. Just fuels her fire," the fan's wrote.
Here are some more fan reactions:
Coco Gauff's win over Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open final sees her take a 4-2 lead in the head-to-head between the two.
Coco Gauff will rise to third in the WTA singles rankings
Coco Gauff's US Open triumph will see her rise to a career-best third in the WTA singles rankings. The American has enjoyed an impressive season so far, with 45 wins out of 58 matches, clinching four titles.
Before her victory at Flushing Meadows, Gauff also won the ASB Classic in Auckland, the Citi Open in Washington, and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
The 19-year-old will also return to World No. 1 in doubles, along with her partner Jessica Pegula, with both players having 6,035 points. The pair were seeded third at the US Open and reached the quarterfinals before losing 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4 to eighth seeds Wang Xinyu and Su-wei Hsieh.