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U.S. OPEN

September 10, 2017

Cori Gauff

New York, NY, USA

A. ANISIMOVA/C. Gauff

6-0, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What will be your takeaway from this match?
CORI GAUFF: Definitely just having fun. I think that was most fun playing out on Grandstand and playing against Amanda. It was really fun. What I want to take away would just be to look forward to the future.

I could have played better, but I still think that it was a good match and it was a good opportunity for me to be in the finals.

Q. Was it nerves, or do you think she just came out playing very well?
CORI GAUFF: I wasn't really that nervous before. She came out playing well, and I wasn't playing that good in the beginning. Then after, I think the momentum was definitely on her side and I didn't play that good. But still, she played amazing. Congrats to her.

Q. What did she do so well? She seemed to be very precise, but what did you -- from your side, what did you think she did so well?
CORI GAUFF: I thought she did well changing the direction of the ball and hitting winners. I was hitting hard, but she would hit it right back. Most of the time it was down the line, and she was hitting good shots on both sides of the court. Today I thought she played well.

Q. And those ten match points, you seemed to come alive with your back very tight against the wall.
CORI GAUFF: Yeah. I tried my best to save as many as possible, and I had a couple game points on my side, too, but, you know, I tried not to think of it as match points. Just tried to keep playing the match.

You know, I thought I would be able to make it out of that game, but it was a good game, though.

Q. What will be your lasting memories of this whole run here this week?
CORI GAUFF: Every part of it. Every single part of it was so much fun, being on-site, being here, being -- just being at the US Open in New York was the most fun. I enjoyed every single part being here.

Q. You have now played in two majors, because you have been at the French, and you have been here.
CORI GAUFF: Yeah.

Q. How do you look at your future? Like, what have you learned and what do you think you still need to do? What are your next steps?
CORI GAUFF: I think I have learned a lot of handling the pace of the ball from different players. That I think was one of my biggest improvements. And being more consistent, can learn just to think more while on the court. But I think I played well throughout this whole tournament.

Q. What are your next plans?
CORI GAUFF: This year I'm going to probably play Eddie Herr, Orange Bowl. Next year, I don't know yet. I'll definitely be back here.

Q. Who do you want to play like when you grow up?
CORI GAUFF: Serena Williams (smiling). Yeah. She's my favorite player, and she's my idol.

Q. What did you think about the women's final yesterday?
CORI GAUFF: I didn't get to see it, because I was on court at the same time. But we were on Court 6 so we could hear all the crowd from Arthur Ashe. Seemed like the crowd was into it just because they were loud.

Turned out that the score was 6-3, 6-0. I think that was so cool seeing young Americans in the finals playing it out at their home slam, too. It was cool to see Sloane win, and I'm happy for both of them.

Q. Will you be going back to Florida? I know the hurricane... Will you be staying in New York for a few days?
CORI GAUFF: I'm going to be staying in New York for a couple of days, because we won't probably be able to get back.

Yeah, I'm praying for all the victims out in Florida and on the islands, that they stay safe during the storm. Hoping that my family will be safe, because they're still over there in Delray.

Q. You have Patrick Mouratoglou come over to the match and Jill Smoller as well. What was it like, because they're involved with Serena, your idol and big inspiration?
CORI GAUFF: I actually didn't know they were there until after the match, but it's cool to see them there and giving me so much support.

They definitely helped me throughout my game, helped me with spin and be more consistent and learn how to play on red clay. I always love going to Patrick's academy and I have so many friends, and the coaches there are amazing.

Q. Did you surprise yourself with these last few weeks, finals in College Park? Did you expect the results of the last few weeks?
CORI GAUFF: College Park I think gave me a lot of confidence coming into this tournament, because I played against some top, good players like Taylor Johnson and Jaimee, the Australian girl in the finals. That gave me confidence coming into this tournament, because I hadn't played that many ITFs. I didn't have that much experience playing against the bigger players, but I'm glad to prove to myself I can hang in with them.

Q. I know you're very young, but have you given any thought -- you haven't signed with an agent, or have you?
CORI GAUFF: No, I haven't signed with an agent. I haven't really thought about it, me personally, but maybe my parents have. But I haven't. I probably won't be signing with anyone any time soon.

Q. Are you giving any thought to the possibility of college, or it's too far away?
CORI GAUFF: I'm definitely going to go to college, but I probably will do online and just go pro. That's what I want to do right now, but that may change. My decision may change in the future, but I'll definitely be graduating with a degree. Probably won't be at the age normal people do, but it may take me a while, but I definitely will be graduating with a degree.

Q. Do you have a best subject in school or a favorite subject?
CORI GAUFF: My favorite is science, and I like writing. Sometimes I like math, depending on what it is (smiling).

Q. Are you technically in eighth grade?
CORI GAUFF: Yes, I'm in eighth grade, and I do ninth grade math. I'm in eighth grade.

Q. You're online, right?
CORI GAUFF: Yeah. I do Florida Virtual Flex program.

Q. Amanda has said this is her last tournament. Can you see why she shouldn't do that?
CORI GAUFF: She's been doing amazing these past couple of months, winning the ITF 60K, I believe, making it to semis or finals and other ones. I'm glad she's ending on a good note winning this. I believe this is her first major slam for juniors.

You know, I'm happy for her, and I'm happy for all the success she's having lately, because it's good for American tennis to see some of the top Americans doing well. I'm looking forward to seeing hopefully playing many more matches against her in the future.

Q. Is there a book you're reading for school right now?
CORI GAUFF: Currently I'm going to start reading the book, 'The Hate You Give', but I haven't started it yet. I was going to start it, but being in the tournament, I was so busy. So by the time I got to the hotel, it was time to shower and go to sleep. Definitely I will probably start reading tomorrow.

Q. You haven't tried to do any homework during these couple weeks, have you?
CORI GAUFF: The first couple of days I did some homework, and then I would say towards the second, third round, I sort of stopped and they let us off because of the hurricane because our teachers couldn't -- some of our teachers couldn't get to the phone or get to the class on time, because some of them decided to stay. Yeah, I have off this weekend and next, a little bit of next week, too.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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