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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 24, 2020

Cori Gauff

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

C. GAUFF/N. Osaka

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Where would you put that among your biggest wins and your best performances?
CORI GAUFF: Oh, I don't have really have a ranking list for that but definitely it has to be somewhere around the top. I thought I played really well today and I was pretty composed and really calm.

Q. You mentioned before that Serena is one of your idols. What does it mean doing something this big on a day where she actually exited the tournament?
CORI GAUFF: Actually, I watched that match today, and, yeah, I still get nervous when that happens. I haven't really thought about it too much, but, I mean, that was an amazing match. It was high-quality tennis from both players, so, yeah.

Q. What were some of the things you learned from your US Open match with her that you put into play tonight?
CORI GAUFF: Definitely the pace of her ball. She definitely plays faster than most players. I think at US Open I wasn't really prepared for that. And today I definitely showed that I worked on that in the offseason.

Q. You said that you get nervous watching Serena, but you didn't look nervous at all tonight.
CORI GAUFF: Yeah.

Q. What do you tell yourself, like, when you're about to serve for this match, or how do you stay so composed at your age?
CORI GAUFF: Yeah. Like, I always said this, I learned a lot from that US Open. Not even just playing against Naomi, but the whole tournament.

I think I was on edge, and I had the three-setters in the first two rounds of the US Open, and I think that was just dealing with all of the media. I feel like now I'm more playing, just having fun. And, I mean, winning is a cherry on top, but I'm honestly having a lot of fun on the court, even in those tight situations.

Q. Almost instantly after your on-court interview Rod Laver tweeted he'd love to meet you.
CORI GAUFF: Yes.

Q. Have you run into him yet, have you?
CORI GAUFF: No, I haven't run into him yet. But I'm sure tomorrow I'll see him.

Q. Did you see that tweet?
CORI GAUFF: Yeah, my mom actually screen shot it and sent it to me.

Q. When someone wins against a winner of the previous year, does it come natural, say, inside yourself, then I may win it, too? Or it's something that doesn't go through your mind at all?
CORI GAUFF: I feel like even before the tournament I think almost every player has a belief that they can win it. Some stronger than others.

So I don't even think about the defending champion and all this, because in the moment, I'm just thinking about playing the ball. That's what I'm going to be thinking about in my doubles tomorrow and my singles whenever I play singles, I don't even know.

But, yeah, I don't really think about that. I just always have the belief I can win regardless of my opponents.

Obviously today was a huge boost in confidence. But, yeah, I think I don't really think too much about defending champion or ranking when I'm on the court.

Q. You were serving very well throughout today's match. Not only big serve but also mixed it up very well, I think.
CORI GAUFF: Yeah.

Q. Can you talk about the strategy, tactics on your serve?
CORI GAUFF: Honestly, really, I was just wanting to get my first serve in the court. That was the main thing.

Target-wise, I wasn't really, like, tactic to where I should serve against her. I never really pick when I'm -- like, before my match my coaches don't really tell me where to serve, on the forehand or backhand, because in the moment I just kind of serve wherever I want and whatever serve I feel. It ended up working today.

Yeah, I thought I served really well. My first-serve percentage I was pretty sure was pretty high. And same with second serve, even though I had some double faults, but I think I won most of my second-serve points.

Q. It was very fun watching your face and your reaction afterwards in the post-match. I think you said at one point, What is my life? Talk about how you were feeling in that moment on the court. Were you in a state of disbelief? How do you have right now?
CORI GAUFF: Yeah, on the court I was definitely, What is my life? All these people clapping for me. Every time I think people think, I guess, you get used to it. I mean, I'm still new to this, but I'm sure I'm not used to it and I'm sure some of the players who have kind of already won a bunch of slams, I'm sure every time that post-match walkout when you wave to the crowd, I'm sure they feel, like, unbelievable in that moment.

And, yeah, definitely that's definitely the mood for today, like, What is my life?

Q. If we could go back a couple years and you come all the way down here and play the juniors and then after you lose, what if someone came up to you and said, Hey, don't worry about this first-round loss, you have come all these miles, couple of years you'll be beating the defending champion into the fourth. What would you say? Just talk about that experience.
CORI GAUFF: Yes, someone who came up to me was Roger, and that definitely had a big impact, because I think I won French Open. I'm pretty sure French Open was my next tournament after that conversation I ended up winning. And actually Roger was also the third person I saw after my match today.

After today, I still haven't seen my parents. I saw Roger first and Alessandro and Tony. So, yeah, inside he told me, Congrats. I was, like, Thank you, trying to be calm. Inside, I was, like, Oh, wow.

Q. Does it help your career you have the same agent?
CORI GAUFF: Yes and no. I feel like Roger would have always been nice to me regardless, even though we have the Team8 connection. He's a nice person, and not just to me but I see him with other players, as well.

He's that type of guy. No matter how many times you speak to him, you're still kind of in awe of his whole presence and what he's done on the court and off the court.

Q. You said on the court about how, What is my life, and, I can't believe it, but thinking back to your celebrations, when you won big matches at Wimbledon or US Open, it seems like maybe the last two rounds your celebrations are a little more understated. Not sure if you feel that way. Is that maybe a sign, if that's correct, that this feels a little bit more normal now or it's not quite so overawing that -- I mean, you just beat Naomi Osaka, but was it a different reaction from when you beat Venus or Hercog at Wimbledon?
CORI GAUFF: Yeah, well, I know my second-round reaction I was pretty hyped up. Today I don't even remember what I did, but I think I was more in disbelief, so I didn't really know what to do. I'm trying to think of what even happened today (smiling).

But, yeah, I think I was just trying to enjoy the moment and savor the moment. I still wouldn't say I'm used to this. It was my first time on Rod Laver, so I was just trying already before my match trying to get over that kind of hump, playing on a court I have never played on before in such a big stage.

Yeah, it was a great match. Playing Naomi, going in today, I just knew it would be a good match. She's a player and a good person, and I think -- I think I said this in my last press conference, but win or lose, I think I was going to be satisfied with today's match, just because when you play someone like that and play a person like that, you can't be too disappointed after a loss, because she's been so nice to me. So, yeah.

Q. Related to that, special moment you had in the US Open, does that make you feel differently about playing her and maybe winning, as well?
CORI GAUFF: Yes. I feel like -- I mean, we all know Naomi is quiet, so I didn't really get much conversation with her before that, but after that moment, I definitely saw the type of person she was.

I mean, I always say I'm forever thankful for that moment. I think not just for me, it was a great moment for me, but also the people watching.

I think it shows that, you know, I feel like in sport sometimes people think we're enemies, and we're not. Some of us are, but most of us, we're all friends. Obviously on the court, we take things intense, but like I said, a real athlete can give you your all on the court and absolutely hate you on the court, but off the court they're nice. That's what true champions are, and that's why she has two Grand Slams, because of her on-court personality and off-court personality.

Q. What felt different today kind of coming into the match versus the last time you played Naomi at the US Open? Was there a difference of what you did to get ready or anything like that?
CORI GAUFF: Definitely a difference in the mentality entering into the match. I was a lot more calm and less about, you know -- this match was hyped up, too. But also US Open was hyped up.

I think now coming into this, I'm just going to have fun, play my best tennis and see what happens. I came out with the win today, and I think that made the difference. And also I think I had a bad start US Open. I think I went down 2-Love or 3-Love, I'm not sure, so today it was important for me to get a good start.

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