“He hasn’t given me any nicknames, he has a lot for other people” - Coco Gauff jokes about working with former Andre Agassi coach Brad Gilbert
Coco Gauff has revealed that her coach Brad Gilbert has yet to give her a nickname that sticks, and even if he has already, she’s ignored it.
Coco Gauff and Brad Gilbert recently forged a partnership that has already yielded massive results. After a highly disappointing Wimbledon where Gauff lost in the very first round to Sofia Kenin, the American made a resolution to make a change rather than mire in despair.
Gauff added Gilbert to her coaching team just before going on to win the WTA 500 Washington Open. She had an even bigger breakthrough following that, winning the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open. She did so beating Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, something she had never been able to achieve before in seven meetings.
Brad Gilbert, a renowned coach who has been around the game for ages, has previously mentored the likes of Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick. But he is famous for more than just his coaching; he has a tendency of giving nicknames not just to players but also for tennis shots that.
Working so closely with Coco Gauff, many expect Gilbert to give the American youngster a name too. While that has yet to happen, Gauff admitted she is learning some of the ‘unique’ names Gilbert has given to certain shots like a ‘kick-slice’.
“Yeah, BG, he hasn't really given me any nicknames. He has a lot of nicknames for other people or like shots and different tennis shots and everything. Yeah, I don't think he's ever called me anything. If he has, I didn't pay attention to it.
“Yeah, he has a lot of unique stuff. I'm learning, like, some of the shots. Sometimes he'll call the kick slice serve, he'll be like, I want a KS right now. I didn't know what that meant at first. Now I know what it means," she said in her pre-tournament press conference at the US Open.
"Seeing a different perspective can sometimes just change things completely" - Coco Gauff
For a professional tennis player, the ability to move on from a heartbreaking loss is absolutely essential. Coco Gauff has shown exactly that by roaring back into form after a failed campaign at Wimbledon. The American has played with a very steely determination since that loss and part of it is because of the different perspective she has gotten since.
Talking about her amazing form in the month of August, Coco Gauff said the biggest difference has been her confidence and trust in herself. She also credited the new team around her that has given her a completely different perspective, changing things ‘completely.’
“I think just confidence and trusting myself. I think I trust the work that I've done in practice. I hope that I can continue to translate that into matches. I think just trusting myself. Obviously have the new team around me. Seeing a different perspective can sometimes just change things completely. I think I have a new perspective and I'm enjoying it a lot", she stated.
At Flushing Meadows, the American has been placed in the same quarter as Iga Swiatek and could meet the World No. 1 in the quarterfinals. The sixth seed will open her campaign against a qualifier.