“Once in a blue moon Roger Federer will send me a message, that's always pretty cool" - Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff has revealed that Roger Federer is someone who, among other former players, would occasionally send her a text to acknowledge her achievements or share a piece of advice.
On Sunday, March 24, Gauff booked her place in the fourth round of the Miami Open 2024 as she defeated France's Oceane Dodin in the third. She faced stern resistance from Dodin in the opening set as the two exchanged break points. Gauff, however, broke the Frenchwoman once more than she did to claim the set in 40 minutes.
In the following set, Gauff rampaged through Dodin with three breaks of serve and dished out a bagel to close the match at 6-4, 6-0 in just 25 additional minutes. With the win, she bettered her previous year's performance at Miami Gardens.
After the match, Gauff sat down in the press room and weighed in on various questions put up by the media persons. During an exchange, she told a journalist that she stays in touch with 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert over texts.
At this, another journalist asked her if she received messages from any other past champion, and Roger Federer's name emerged in Gauff's list as she replied:
"I do get some messages from past players, not as many as people would think. I would think the only person honestly, other than Chrissie, is Mary Joe [Fernandez]. Once [in] a blue moon Roger [Federer] will send me a message, that's always pretty cool when he does."
The World No. 3 noted that the messages from the aforementioned players are more often than not congratulatory.
"I can't think of any on the top of my head other than those two right now. But there's more, I'm sure. A lot of her messages are just advice on some matches or just, Good job, How are you doing, regular messages," Coco Gauff added.
Coco Gauff to play against Caroline Garcia for a place in the Miami Open 2024 QF
Coco Gauff is scheduled to take on Caroline Garcia, another Frenchwoman, for a spot in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open 2024 on Monday, March 25.
She has previously encountered Garcia four times on the court. Their head-to-head currently stands balanced at 2-2 with Garcia being the victor in their last meeting at the WTA Finals 2022. The French notably triumphed at that tournament with a win over Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
In Miami, Caroline Garcia has already gone past Viktoriya Tomova (walkover) and Naomi Osaka. On the other hand, Coco Gauff has downed Nadia Podoroska apart from Oceane Dodin.