"It's a huge honor" - Coco Gauff opens up on becoming 1st American woman since Serena Williams to triumph at China Open, reflects on historic win
Coco Gauff has expressed her pride in placing her name alongside Serena Williams with her triumph at the 2024 China Open. The 20-year-old's victory marks her second title of the season, following her triumphant campaign at the ASB Classic in January.
After a disappointing run at the US Open and the subsequent shakeup in her coaching team, Gauff has clinched her second WTA 1000 title. The American claimed a dominant 6-1, 6-3 win over Karolina Muchova in the final, extending her perfect record against the Czech to 3-0 and climbing two spots to become the World No. 4.
The 20-year-old made history with her triumph, becoming the only woman in the Open Era to win each of her first seven hardcourt finals on the WTA tour. She also became the first American woman to triumph at the event in Beijing since Serena Williams emerged victorious in 2013.
Coco Gauff reflected on the historic achievement in her post-match press conference, expressing her delight at breaking new ground in women's tennis.
"Yeah, that's pretty cool, considering there's been so many great players before me in the Open Era. Honestly, with the stat things, I feel like every tournament, it's a new stat or new record. I'm very thankful," she said.
"I would be excited to see when the next stat is, the next girl, I don't know who, will be the first person to do this since Coco Gauff. I'm excited to see that, honestly," she added.
Gauff was particularly thrilled to follow in Serena Williams' footsteps with her China Open triumph, emphasizing that it was a "huge honor" to have her name associated with the 23-time Grand Slam champion. The 20-year-old also expressed her belief that records were meant to be broken, expressing her desire to see another player surpass her feat.
"Especially honestly it means a lot when I saw that the last American woman to win this was Serena Williams. Honestly, anytime my name is mentioned in whatever sentence hers is, it's like a huge honor to do something no one has ever done before. It is pretty cool. I didn't know that was on the line," Coco Gauff said.
"I don't know if it would have affected my mentality today. That's pretty cool. I hope somebody else breaks it. I think records are meant to be broken, honestly," she added.
"I was just like this match is not going to change my life" - Coco Gauff on her 'super relaxed' mindset heading into China Open final
During the same press conference, Coco Gauff shed light on her "super relaxed" mindset heading into the China Open final, opening up about reminding herself that the outcome of the match wouldn't dramatically change her life.
"I was super relaxed going in. I was just like, I don't know, this match is not going to change my life. When you go into matches like that, it's super relaxed. I think also the experience of winning a 1000-level title in the past. Yeah, that tournament, it was great confidence. Again, it didn't change my life," Coco Gauff said.
The 20-year-old also emphasized that she would've been proud of herself even if she had lost, taking satisfaction in her efforts.
"I knew regardless of the result today, I was proud. Honestly, I was just telling myself the whole match I'm proud of myself, how I was able to overcome and still work on things that I've been practicing on, too, and stick to it," she added.
Coco Gauff will be back in action at the Wuhan Open, aiming to win her second consecutive WTA 1000 title. Following a first-round bye, the American will take on the winner of the match between Ashlyn Krueger and Viktoriya Tomova.