"There weren't too many black women; We had to deal with a lot of crap" - Coco Gauff gets 'emotional' after triumph over Hailey Baptiste at Citi Open
Coco Gauff was overcome with emotion during her her on-court interview after her win against Hailey Baptiste in the Round of 16 at the Citi Open.
After receiving a first-round bye, third seed Gauff opened her Citi Open campaign against her compatriot and qualifier Hailey Baptiste. It took Gauff an hour and seveteen minutes to seal her spot in the quarterfinals with a convincing 6-1, 6-4 victory over her opponent.
The Tennis Letter posted a video clip of Coco Gauff's post-match on-court interview, where the 19-year-old opened up about her Juniors days with Baptiste. Gauff stated that the two had to put up with a lot during their Juniors days as African-American players, a rarity in those days.
“It makes me a bit emotional playing Hailey because growing up, there wasn't really too many black women in juniors. We had to deal with a lot of crap that you guys don’t know about,” she said.
Coco Gauff had kind words for Baptiste:
“It makes me a bit emotional playing Hailey because growing up, there wasn't really too many black women in juniors. We had to deal with a lot of crap that you guys don’t know about”
A great voice for tennis. ❤️
pic.twitter.com/2NUYl6YAAP
The World No. 4 expressed her happiness at both players representing the African-American community together. She added that she was happy to see a lot of girls in the stands and hoped for the trend to continue.
"For us to be here on tour today, it really means a lot. It does make me emotional truly because it just reminds me of those big dreams we had as kids and I hope that me and Hailey play each other many more times to be that representation. I see a lot of little girls in the stands and I hope this becomes more and more of a common thing in our sport," she added.
Coco Gauff to clash with Belinda Bencic the quarterfinals of the Citi Open
Coco Gauff will square off against sixth seed Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Citi Open.
This is the deepest run that the American teen sensation has made in the tournament in her career so far. She competed at the Citi Open once before in 2019, where she lost to Zarina Diyas in the first round.
After a triumph at the ASB Classic in Auckland in the beginning of the year, the World No. 4 will be vying for her second title of the 2023 season.
She defeated fellow American Hailey Baptiste in the previous round.
The hug at the end ❤️
@CocoGauff defeats fellow American and childhood friend Baptiste 6-1, 6-4 under the lights in DC!
#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/g7b5osrt0f
Meanwhile World No. 15 Belinda Bencic overcame Lauren Davis in straight-sets in the opening round of the tournament. She had a walkover in the next round over her opponent, Anastasia Potapova, after the Russian retired in the first set due to injury.
With the Adelaide International 2 and the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open titles under her belt, the Swiss will be eyeing her third title of the season.
Both players have met once before, in the semifinals of the 2021 Adelaide International, with Bencic defeating Gauff in that clash.