"The women's scene needs a superstar, and Coco Gauff is one" - Boris Becker
Six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker heaped praise on Coco Gauff, saying that the American has what it takes to be the next superstar of women's tennis.
Gauff has had a great 2023 season and will enter the US Open in fine form. Following triumphs at the ASB Classic and Citi Open earlier this year, the 19-year-old won the 2023 Cincinnati Open, her biggest career title, after defeating Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.
The World No. 6 became the youngest player to win the tournament in Cincinnati. She defeated Mayar Sherif, Linda Noskova, Jasmine Paolini, World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova to clinch her maiden WTA 1000 title.
Speaking on the Eurosport Germany's Das Gelbe vom Ball podcast, former World No. 1 Boris Becker hailed Coco Gauff and acknowledged the pressure she has faced.
"It's always difficult when you're 15 years old and already being touted as the next superstar of the tennis scene by us experts," said Becker.
The 55-year-old stated the difficulty of Gauff's position as a teenager bursting onto the scene, waiting for a major breakthrough.
"That doesn't make life any easier for a 15-year-old. That means the pressure increases, the expectations rise, and you also lose a bit of patience. Now I finally have to win something big. No, it was the final in Paris, but the big breakthrough didn't happen," added Becker.
The German reflected on Coco Gauff's triumphs on American hard courts, including beating World No.1 Iga Swiatek for the first time in the semifinals of the 2023 Cincinnati Open.
"But this summer, now on the American hard courts, she won the tournament in Washington and beat the world number one Swiatek for the first time in the semi-finals in Cincinnati to win the final against [Karolina] Muchova."
Becker opined that the American's breakthrough can be compared to World No. 6 Jannik Sinner's rise, and also added that Gauff is now one of the favourites to win the US Open.
"In this respect, I call this a breakthrough, it can be compared to [Jannik] Sinner, and now she is also in the tight circle of the absolute top favourites for the US Open, and that is nice for the scene," he added.
He also praised Gauff for her personality and charisma, touting her to be the next superstar of women's tennis.
"She [Coco Gauff] is a great personality with a lot of charisma. She comes from America, which is the promised land of tennis with the most big tournaments. The women's scene needs a superstar, and I'll say Coco Gauff is one," Boris Becker said.
"I think that's what makes a champion, is how you're doing on the days you aren't feeling so great" - Coco Gauff says after winning the Cincinnati Open
After winning her maiden WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati, Coco Gauff reflected on the game during the post-match press conference. The 19-year-old insisted there is still room for improvement in her game and that she has already identified the problem areas.
"Yeah, for me, it was just like difficult because I knew what I needed to improve. I was going in practice and I was working on it. It just wasn't translating into the matches. It still can get a lot better, the things I want to improve," said Gauff.
The World No. 6 admitted to feeling tired after the intense semifinal against World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, which invariably resulted in her having weaker serves in the final of the Cincinnati Open.
"For me, the biggest thing was my serve, forehand and return. Today I really won it off of breaking serve, to be honest. I wasn't really serving as good as I did against Iga [Swiatek]. I don't know if it was nerves. I wasn't that nervous, to be honest. Also a combination of the long match yesterday. I wasn't serving as well," she said.
The American said that she was happy to be able to push through the difficulties, an attriibute she thinks separates champions from the rest.
"I think that's what makes a champion, is how you're doing on the days you aren't feeling so great. I'm glad I was able to push through," Coco Gauff said.