ROLAND GARROS

May 31, 2024

Coco Gauff

Press Conference

C. GAUFF/D. Yastremska

6-2, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Strong performance from you today. Talk to us on your thoughts of your performance.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I thought I played pretty well today. I was just trying to be solid. She's a very aggressive player who can hit winners and also make mistakes, so I was just trying to be solid and be aggressive when I could.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How did it feel on the court? I was watching your match from the media box, and I felt like an ice cube at the end. Tough conditions. How did it feel on the court, and what did you have to do to adjust to those conditions?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, it was definitely obviously chilly today, as you can tell. I was wearing a long sleeve. Yeah, it was definitely slow, but my last round it was, like, kind of similar. It was super humid in my last round, but very slow, and today it was obviously not humid, more cold, but still slow.

It did feel slow, which last year when I played on this court, it was sunny, and the ball was bouncing more. It was definitely like a completely different court depending on the conditions.

Q. You talked on court after the match about the idea of not getting mad, not getting distracted, trying to stay focused. I'm just wondering, do you have, whether in your training that you work on or during matches themselves, techniques you use to help you focus, ignore distractions, and maybe stay in the moment?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, definitely. Today especially when it was time to close out and the games were getting, you know, close and tight, I was just trying to just remind myself I'm in the better position. I'm the one up a set and double break, so I was just reminding myself of that.

I think sometimes when those moments happen and you just want to finish the match so fast, you can let things triple over, whereas if it's 1-All or 2-All, you lose a game, it's not that big of a deal. I just try to remind myself the positioning of the match.

It's kind of psyching yourself out. Because then there are times when you're down a set and a break and you have to tell yourself it's okay. It's just really psyching yourself out.

Q. There are some athletes in various sports who work on exercises or things or come up with tricks to work on focus or not be distracted. Is there anything like that that you do away from the court maybe?

COCO GAUFF: I mean, I just try to do, like, breathing sometimes. I don't do it every day because I'm not as disciplined as I would like. Sometimes I like to lay on the ground and just meditate, whether it's for literally a minute or 2 or 10 or 15. It just kind of depends on the day or how I feel.

I think it helps to keep you grounded because sometimes in these tournaments the pressure can feel like a lot to do a lot, and I think sometimes you just lay on the ground, and you just think that -- I don't know. There's, I don't know, billions of people on this earth and billions of people don't even know who you are. So the matches aren't as big as they feel sometimes.

Q. There's been a lot of talk about the crowds here. You've played on all the great stages of the game. Can you just go off sort of free-form on the differences on the big stages, what you like, the differences, and also, maybe what's the most fun crowd or different, unusual crowd of some of the smaller tournaments.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, for me -- I mean, I like big crowds obviously, and I like when people are passionate about the match. I know sometimes during the point it can be tough when there's crowd noise, and especially when it's unexpected. I think constant noise is better.

Yeah, I mean, I think to an extent it's tough because you're watching a match at such high stakes, and I see myself as a spectator. Even when I'm watching my little brother play, you want to make a noise. It is tough sometimes. I think for the most part people are respectful to the players. There's obviously some crowds that maybe aren't.

But my favorite court -- well, I mean, other than US Open -- honestly, I like playing on Suzanne Lenglen the last two days, which I wouldn't probably have picked that answer in the past, but I don't know, there were so many kids on that court. They were, like, cheering for me really loudly, which I wasn't expecting.

I feel like usually when I play on Lenglen, the crowd is more calm and chill. But for some reason this year, I don't know if the tickets have been changed. I don't know. Every time I played there, there was a group of boys, different boys, but all under the age of 12, and they were just cheering super loudly. I actually enjoyed that. And they were respectful to my opponent, which I like when it's like that.

Q. The coaching setup you have now with JC coming in, it's sort of a new-old coach, as it's been explained to me. How is the dynamic working with Brad, and what do you get from each of them and bringing him back? What were you looking for?

COCO GAUFF: For me it's like they both -- I don't know how they collaborate because they talk before the practices about what we do in practices, but they collaborate on the things that I need to work on. JC does a lot of the day-to-day things because Brad isn't at every single tournament, so he does a lot of the day-to-day drills and being there day-to-day.

I think Brad is somebody that kind of oversees everything, and I think he's really good at scouting reports and making the game simple. Sometimes it's not about what you say, it's about how you say it. I feel like sometimes things stick a little bit more because he makes the game feel more simple, and I think when I play with a simple mind going into the match, it's easier.

Yeah, I'm really happy with how everything has been going.

Q. I wanted to ask you, tomorrow Badosa and Sabalenka play each other, and they're super close friends. I wanted to ask you what that experience is like playing against a good friend, maybe Jessie, somebody like that? I know you have a lot of close friends on the ATP side. I wonder if that's almost easier because you're not going to have to play against them in the same way.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think for me it's not really that difficult. So many times, especially with Jess, we've played and had to play doubles right after.

Yeah, we don't take any feelings on the court. I mean, yeah, it sucks to lose, but you're not mad. Never, even when I'm playing a friend or even somebody I probably don't like as much, I'm never mad at them after I lose a match. It's more so what you can do better.

Yeah, I think most of the girls I would say 99% of the girls on tour are very easy-minded when it comes to playing. Even, like, Dayana, who I wouldn't necessarily say we're super close friends, but we talk sometimes. I played her after Madrid, and I saw her in Nice, and I won in Madrid, and she was, like, do you want to go to dinner or go shopping together?

I think all the girls are pretty in that mindset of just going hard at it on the court and then being fine off the court, which I think that's what you have to do in this life because these are your friends or coworkers for the next, like, 10, 15 years. You better get along or it's going to be miserable.

Q. I saw you reposted this on your Instagram story, the video of Cameron Brink wearing your outfit ahead of the game the other night. What is it like to see that kind of support, and what did you think when you saw it?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, it was really cool. I haven't got the chance to meet Cameron yet, but obviously been watching her a lot when she was at Stanford and now seeing her in the WNBA is great, and I definitely want to try to catch a game.

There are a couple of players I want to see. I wasn't expecting it, and it was very nice of her. I think she rocked the fit better than anybody could have.

Yeah, I hope one day maybe -- New Balance is my team. I hope they give her a signature shoe one day, and I can rock it too for my press events. Yeah, she's awesome.

Q. It's your 18th win at Roland Garros, which is actually one more than Chris Evert managed before she turned 21. I wonder if statistics like that mean anything to you at all?

COCO GAUFF: It's very cool to be, I guess, in the same stat line as these great players, but honestly, they're their own level, I guess if that makes sense. For example, like, Chris Evert, I'm nowhere near where she was or where she is, but it's very cool.

It does give me motivation because it makes me feel like I am on the right path, but yeah -- and she's also a very nice person. She's reached out to me a lot. But it's very cool to be in the stat line, same stats as these great legends, but I try not to, like, think too much into it because they're legends for a reason. I'm not near that.

I hope to aspire to be, but I'm not. It does give me motivation to keep trying to do better.

Q. I'm not sure if you got to see some of it because I think you clashed the other day, but the Naomi and Iga match. If you have caught up with any of it, what did you make as someone who has played both of them at their peaks?

COCO GAUFF: I didn't get to see it because I was playing at the same time. I did watch a little bit of the first set because that was before my match, but it was very early. It was still good points, but I'm sure nowhere near towards the end of the match.

They're both tough players to play. Especially Iga on clay is a very difficult -- on any surface, but especially clay very difficult to play. Naomi, I've played her -- I think I've only played her exclusively on hard, I believe. I would say that's her best surface. I've played her -- defending champion when she was defending Australian Open. I played both of them at strong points in their career.

I think it's very cool to see, especially for Naomi, coming back. I know clay was somewhere -- maybe not anymore at the end of this tournament, but it was somewhere in the past that was probably a difficult spot for her.

I always root for her, and I think also coming back from motherhood and for her to put up a level like that against Iga is great. It's good for women's tennis to see, and good for just women in general to see that you can come back and be at the high level and take the World No. 1 to the brink.

Also good on Iga for getting through that match.

Naomi is not an easy person to play second round, no matter what form she's in.

Q. I would like to know how you try to manage your adjustments on your technique, like in the offseason you have been working with Roddick. Do you make it during the tournaments having practically not so much time in between big events?

COCO GAUFF: I think during big events -- once the tournament starts, it's kind of just trying to remind myself what to do, but it's at that point all the tweaking and all of that is done.

Obviously, in between I'm constantly trying to make, not just to my serve but all parts of my game, minor adjustments to do better. Obviously in the offseason you have more time to make bigger adjustments.

It can be difficult, and I think that's the spot that I found growing up on tour that was difficult for me because I was 15, and I'm playing these top players, but it was hard to develop my game, I think, when playing week-by-week and playing top players.

That is something that I would say maybe -- not if I could do it again, but I think I would just focus on not results so much I think in my head and try to also develop. I think I got down on myself when I lost a lot, and I'm just, like, you were so young, and I'm still young, but you were definitely super young then, and you're still developing.

Yeah, I try to just keep to continue to develop as a player. Sometimes that ends in some losses, but I think in the long run it will be important.

Q. You're going to play an Italian next match, Elisabetta Cocciaretto. You played against her in Dubai, and you beat her. She won against Samsonova today, Haddad Maia the other day, Kvitová last year. What do you know about her, and how do you expect to play against her knowing her game a bit?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I played her in Dubai, as you said, and that was a tough match. I believe it was, like, 7-6, maybe 6-2 or 6-1 or something like that. It was a tough match.

I very remember it well. I haven't maybe watched a lot of her matches on clay, so I would probably have to go back and see what adjustments I need to make with that game.

I know she's a fighter. She fights all the time. No matter what the score is, she's not giving up until the last point. I know I have to go in there with a strong mentality.