"That would be pretty cool" - Coco Gauff on American players sweeping the Australian Open singles titles
Coco Gauff was one of six American women to have reached the third round of the 2023 Australian Open. The men have fared even better, with eight of them making the last-32 at the season's first Slam.
In fact, some of the biggest matches from the first week in Melbourne have seen American players shine. Mackenzie McDonald and Michael Mmoh's upset wins over Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev, respectively, and Coco Gauff's own dismissal of Emma Raducanu have been among the notable victories.
The performances have also given way to conversations about players from the US contending for the title and Gauff, for one, is all for it. Speaking about the same in the press conference following her third-round win over Bernarda Pera, the youngster said it would be "pretty cool" if American players won both singles titles in Melbourne.
"That would be pretty cool if an American woman and guy could win the same Slam," Gauff said. "I don't know when the last time that's happened or if it's ever happened. I'll be pretty excited."
Elaborating, Gauff said while the American women have been thriving on the tour for a while now, it was nice to see the men finally beginning to "catch up" in terms of results.
"Yeah, definitely. I definitely think on the men's side they're, like, thriving really," Gauff said. "It's like eight people in the Round of 32 I saw. I think it's incredible.
"I'm just excited. I think on the women's side, we're always like the guys need to catch up, you guys need to put in your work. I think they're here. I'm hoping that, you know, eventually, hopefully soon, we'll have our Slam champion on the men's side," she added.
Coco Gauff to take on Jelena Ostapenko in R4 of the Australian Open
Coco Gauff, who beat countrywoman Bernarda Pera 6-3, 6-2 on Friday, is now set to take on the big-hitting Jelena Ostapenko in the last-16.
Speaking about the challenge, Gauff said she will try her best to be offensive whenever the opportunity presents itself.
"I think for me, I played her before," Gauff said. "I think it's just being offensive when you can. Obviously there's going to be shots that she hits that are just going to be too good, accepting that.
"Bernarda was hitting the ball pretty hard. I think she was hitting big shots," she continued. "I was also trying to be offensive when I can. I think that's going to be a similar matchup just instead of playing a righty instead of a lefty."