Coco Gauff wishes her father Corey a happy birthday
Coco Gauff took to social media today to wish her father Corey Gauff a very happy birthday. The American teenager, who travels with her father throughout the year on the WTA Tour, expressed her love for him in a very short and sweet message on Instagram ahead of her opening-round match at the 2022 Cincinnati Open.
"Happy Birthday dad! Love you," said Gauff.
The World No. 11's father, a former basketball player at George State, has had a huge impact on her life, as revealed by the teenager herself in a recent interview. Recalling how her father made her believe that she could be the "greatest" when she was only eight years old, Gauff revealed that she considers her father, along with her mother, to be her "biggest supporters."
“My dad told me I could [be the greatest] when I was eight, and obviously, you never believe it. I’m still not 100 percent confident, but you have to say things and believe in them,” she said. "Sometimes when I feel a little bit tight during a match, I look at them because they just give me fist pumps, so that just shows me that everything’s gonna be okay. They’re definitely my biggest supporters."
Coco Gauff retires from her opening-round match at Cincinnati ahead of the US Open
Meanwhile, the American was forced to retire from her opening-round match against Marie Bouzkova at the Cincinnati Masters. Gauff suffered an injury to her left angle during the 11th game of the match as she went down 6-5 in the first set.
The 11th seed tried to continue competing in the match after she lost the first set 5-7 to the Czech. But after getting broken in the opening game of the second set, the teenager decided to throw in the towel.
CINCINNATI | Wishing Coco Gauff a speedy recovery after she was forced to retire from her first-round match against Marie Bouzkova.
Gauff, seeded 11th, rolled her left ankle in the first set and tried to carry on but was unable to.
📸 | Frey [Getty] https://t.co/hqramcR8lF
Speaking to the press ahead of the clash, she had commented on the importance of playing more and more matches under her belt before Grand Slams, noting that it would be important to get the inevitable "bad sets" out of the way before the important stages of the tournament.
"I think that's what I need, more matches, because in a Grand Slam very few people can play great the whole match for two weeks," said Gauff. "You always have one bad set or something. I think that having those matches under my belt helps."
Her retirement against Bouzkova will therefore be a huge blow for the World No. 11, especially this close to her home Slam in New York later in the month. Coco Gauff will be hoping to recover from her injury as soon as possible and get in as much practice as possible before the US Open, a tournament she has never reached the second week at till date.