“We spoke until 1 am” – Coco Gauff says she called her boyfriend to help her stop thinking about winning US Open
Ahead of her US Open final against Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff talked to her boyfriend till late at night so as to stop herself from overthinking about the result.
Gauff defeated Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday, September 9, to clinch her maiden Grand Slam trophy. She strengthened her defense after losing the opening set and broke her opponent four times in the next two sets to end her American summer with a bang.
The 19-year-old used her experience from last year's French Open campaign, where she was overwhelmed by Iga Swiatek 1-6, 3-6 in the final. Gauff said that ahead of the final in Paris she spent too much time envisioning herself beating the Pole, but repelled similar thoughts ahead of Saturday's clash.
"Honestly, I didn't have any of those visions till last night. You know, I thought about it, but I told myself to get it out of my head, because that's what I did at French. I was envisioning, you know, what would happen if I would win. I think I wanted it too much," Coco Gauff said during her post-match press conference.
In order to keep her mind from straying, Gauff stayed on her phone until 1 am and chatted with her boyfriend.
"Last night, I started a little bit, but honestly, I just called my boyfriend, and I told him let's talk until it's time to go to sleep so we spoke until 1:00 a.m. and then I went to sleep," she said.
Gauff further said she maintained her composure until the very last point of her match against Sabalenka.
"When I lost the first set I still felt I was into the match and I said, you know, I'm going to give it my all. Even on that match point, 40-Love, technically the match was on my racket. It didn't feel like I had won. I was just trying to just focus on the point ahead of me," Coco Gauff added.
Coco Gauff set to become World No. 3 after US Open glory
Coco Gauff will rise to a career-high ranking of World No. 3 following her US Open triumph on Saturday. Gauff has added 1,570 points to her name after defending 430 points from last year's quarterfinal finish in New York.
She will also dethrone compatriot Jessica Pegula from the American No. 1 spot in the WTA rankings. Pegula will drop down to fifth place in the women's rankings following her fourth-round exit at Flushing Meadows. The two Americans will be separated by Elena Rybakina in fourth position.
Furthermore, Aryna Sabalenka will take the pole position on Monday, with Iga Swiatek falling to number two. Marketa Vondrousova and Karolina Muchova will also reach a career-high of World No. 6 and No. 8, respectively.
Ons Jabeur, Maria Sakkari and Caroline Garcia will fill the seventh, ninth, and tenth spots, respectively.