OMNIUM BANQUE NATIONALE

August 7, 2023

Coco Gauff

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Coco, welcome to Montreal. You just came off of winning the title in D.C. How will you adjust to the turn-around and prepare for this tournament here?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think -- I mean, I hit today. It was raining, so I think I'm just trying to feel out the courts. I requested a Wednesday start, so we'll see if that happens.

But, yeah, I think I'm just really happy to be back in Montreal. It's my first time here not in a COVID era, so this is my first time actually walking around the city and really getting up close to the fans. I'm really happy to be here.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Congratulations on D.C. It just felt like throughout that week you were really feeling yourself, enjoying just -- I don't know. You seemed more free with your emotions and your game and everything. Just how different did the week feel just on the court, off the court, and also just in the way you played?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think it felt a lot different. I think I had more of a plan playing, and I was accepting the mistakes. I was trying to be more aggressive that week.

And obviously with the fans in D.C., being an American playing there, they really loved -- I had a lot of support there. I think the overall energy there was really fun and light, and I think it kind of showed in the way I was playing.

Q. I'm curious about how you manage your schedule because a lot of players now are putting a lot of rest, and you play a lot of tournaments, playing doubles and singles, so how do you manage to have such good results and playing that much?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I mean, I lost first round Wimbledon, so I had a lot of energy to be honest to play for D.C. I didn't play doubles that week. I am playing doubles this week with Jess.

And I wanted to play both this week because obviously if this week goes well, which I hope it does, then Cincinnati could be up in the air because then that would be three tournaments back-to-back-to-back. But if not, then I'll play Cincinnati.

So, yeah, I wanted to still play in this tournament. Also Jess and I won this last year, even though it was in Toronto. I just felt like I wanted to come and play and see how I can do.

This is my first 500 title, and a lot of the top players, they're winning a lot of these tournaments back-to-back. So I just want to test I guess my match toughness in a way.

Q. Further to that, there's not too many players who are ranked top 5, top 10 in both singles and doubles. Is that something you would like to do throughout your whole career? Is that something you see more as temporary? How do you view the doubles in your career?

COCO GAUFF: I mean, I'm sure as I get way older, yeah, it won't be as much of a priority. Even now we're playing less doubles, Jess and I, I think than we did last year. We're just trying to pick out our tournaments a lot better.

The ranking in doubles isn't a priority. It just kind of happens when you do well, so it's not something that I'm thinking about.

I do see myself playing in the slams the majority of the times in doubles. Probably not every slam, but maybe US Open, and that slam I think is the one that I would prefer to play as much as possible.

But, yeah, honestly it just depends how I'm feeling. I will say next year I do want to play a little bit less doubles maybe after the Olympics, but it's tough right now I feel like to just stop playing completely when you are doing well with someone who is from your same country, which you don't see that in a lot of teams.

One of my biggest dreams is to win a gold medal, and frankly, I think it's one of the things that it doesn't matter what event it's in. A gold medal is a gold medal, where I feel like the grand slams is definitely way cooler to win a singles one than a doubles one.

Yeah, that's probably my thinking that at least through the Olympics I want to try my best to stay ranked high enough so we can qualify.

Q. In D.C. you talked about beating the scouting report after winning the title, and I'm just curious with respect to it's always been the elephant in the room I guess in a way with your forehand. What was it like to kind of feel like that wing was getting picked on pretty frequently, and when did it hit critical mass to where you felt like I have to do something about this?

COCO GAUFF: I mean, I would say the last couple of years. I mean, it's obviously something that I needed to work on, and it has gotten better. You know, a lot of people don't realize it's not easy to fix things while you're playing.

I didn't want to take time off from playing. I still felt like I had a shot in the slams. I mean, I made a slam final last year.

So it's something that I needed to work on, and it's still something I needed to work on. And even on my backhand side, there's shots that I think that I can work on that wing too.

So, yeah, I think that is something that I've been trying to do my best to do better at, and I think that last week I did get better at it, but a lot of things in my game I think still need to improve a lot more. I do think that I'm handling those situations better, though.

Q. You've played this event twice so far. Both time quarters. Is there anything in specific that makes you play good north of the border?

COCO GAUFF: I'm going to be honest. The first time I played I think I had two defaults here in Montreal, so I don't know. I kind of made quarters by chance really.

Yeah, I think that last year, yeah, I played Elena and Aryna, and those are good wins for me because I think it was back-to-back or almost back-to-back where I had to play them. Now they're obviously doing well, but at that time Rybakina, she just had won Wimbledon, and Sabalenka has always been a threat, and obviously even more now after winning Australian Open.

I don't know why I have good results here. I'm hoping to do even better than a quarter or a semi. I'm hoping to win one of these 1000 titles. It would be cool to do it here.

Yeah, I kind of like Montreal. I'm not going to lie. I like Toronto a little bit better (laughing). It's more like an American city I feel like, but Canadians in general are just really nice people, and that's maybe probably why I do well.

The fans here are really respectful, so I try my best to -- even today after practice it was raining, and I was trying my best to sign as many as I can, and for me I never know which fans speak English and which fans speak French, so that's been my hardest challenge in Montreal so far.

Q. How is your French?

COCO GAUFF: It's not good. I have been doing -- I have my longest streak on Duolingo today, which is only 26 days (laughing). Yeah, it's not that great. I'm really trying.

Now my team with Pere and Maria, they're trying to teach my Spanish, so my brain is just scrambled.

Then Brad is teaching me all of these quirky, I don't even know, Californian '80s sayings, and he is trying to get me to listen to the Eagles. I don't even -- I was, like, the Philadelphia Eagles?

It's just too much going on on my team right now (laughing). Everybody wants me to know a bit about them, so I'm working on it. My fitness coach is French. Physio and coach is Spanish. Brad is just, you know -- he speaks his own language.

We're trying (laughing).