Tennis - US Open 2024 - Coco Gauff : "Coming in as defending champion is a little bit of pressure"
Coco Gauff défend son titre à la maison. Sacrée à l'US Open en 2023, l'Américaine va tenter le double cette année. En difficulté depuis sa défaite en huitièmes de finale des Jeux Olympiques de Paris 2024, Gauff n'a gagné qu'un match entre Toronto et Cincinnati. Après un bon bloc d'entraînement, la jeune joueuse arrive tout de même confiance à Flushing Meadows, où elle commencera contre la Française Varvara Gracheva. Avant de débuter, la tenante du titre s'est montrée positive en conférence de presse.
Vidéo : @USOpen
Vidéo : @USOpen
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00:00Yeah, it's a new year for new opportunity. I'm really excited to be back here and have
00:09a great tournament. Obviously, coming in as defending champion is a little bit of pressure,
00:13but also more of a privilege because as my new motto is, if you defend, that means you
00:18won something before. So I'm excited to be back here and hopefully have a good two weeks.
00:24Hi Coco. We're in the Billie Jean Tennis Center, obviously a couple hundred yards away.
00:31It's a statue of Althea and this stadium was named after a man who acted boldly. In our
00:39country there have been a lot of developments recently and an African American has been
00:43nominated for the presidency by one of the parties. Could you share some of your thoughts
00:50about that, please?
00:51Yeah, I think it is really incredible. No matter who you're voting for, who you stand
00:57for, it is really incredible to see how far this country has come and people of color
01:01and black people in general. So it's really inspiring to see someone on that ballot. And
01:07yeah, honestly, it takes the works of many others to pave the way. And yeah, I'm excited
01:15that I'm able to see this in my lifetime because I know many others didn't get that chance
01:21to.
01:22Chris Fudden with ESPN. You mentioned while in Paris you got to spend time with Tara Davis
01:28Woodall or Gabby Thomas. I'm curious, what did you learn from other women who are the
01:34best at their fields?
01:36I think that what you're feeling isn't so isolated. Just being around elite athletes
01:42at what they do, the nerves, you realize, I guess, nerves are normal. The pressures
01:46are all normal. It doesn't make them easier, but I think it helps you know that you're
01:50not carrying the weight alone. So I think I just learned that and they're incredible
01:55people. So yeah, I think I just learned most thing that everything that I feel other athletes
02:01are feeling and their sports and they're obviously undisputed best at what they've done, especially
02:08this past Olympics.
02:10Dave.
02:11Hi.
02:12Hi.
02:13Dave with CanadianTennis.com. Obviously Cincinnati didn't go the way you wanted it to, so I'm
02:15just curious what went into the reset from then and preparing for this tournament?
02:19Yeah. I mean, obviously I wanted to go in Cincinnati and win, but you know, I had more
02:24realistic things in my head just coming from Olympics and, you know, switching surfaces
02:30so fast. So really the main focus was trying to be as ready as possible for here, which
02:35I feel like it was a blessing in disguise I lost so early because I was able to actually
02:41train. I wish I hadn't been able to and I do my best results when I come off a training
02:45block. So I was able to train for like a good week and a half and obviously still have like
02:50a couple more days to do that. But you know, the last couple of practices have gone really
02:54well, which before, like during Cincinnati wasn't having great practices and Toronto
03:00wasn't having great practices. So here I'm having great practices, which, you know, doesn't
03:07mean I'm going to go out on the match and play great, but it does give you more confidence
03:10when you're actually practicing great, you know, the week before a tournament. So, yeah.
03:14In the back.
03:16Levakavis from Sportico. You've obviously been a part of a lot of night sessions here.
03:22Do you think there's an issue with matches ending at 2 a.m., 2.30 a.m., both here and
03:28at the other slams? And if so, what would you do to address that issue?
03:31Yeah. So I've never actually had a super late finish just because I've, you know, I've just
03:36been lucky that either the match will go super fast or anything like that. But obviously
03:41I do think that finishing late can really ruin your tournament. And especially like
03:47on the guy's side when they, you know, they tend, if they go on at like 11 or 12, you
03:53know, a max, maybe the longest the women's match will go is maybe two hours or three
03:58hours, but men's can go like five. So I think for me, I think I heard that U.S. Open this
04:04year is if you're going to start after 11, they're going to move your court. So I think
04:07that's a good initiative to start because you may win that match that day, but your
04:11sleep schedule and everything is completely messed up for the rest of the tournament.
04:15So it does put that person at a disadvantage. And so I think right now with that new policy,
04:20I think that's the best way to address it. And I mean, we don't, we won't know until
04:24we test a lot of things, but I think this is a good start.
04:27Go Howard, Cindy, then the front row. Howard.
04:31Hi Coco. This tournament has a video review on about half the courts for things like not
04:38ups or other calls along those lines. You of course, at the Olympics and at the French
04:43Open had called for seeing that more. Do you think there's any good reason why it
04:51shouldn't be at, and would you like to see it at every tournament year round?
04:56Yeah. I'm sorry. No, you continue.
04:59Just to finish, do you think going into matches, knowing that's there might help you and other
05:05players not worry about those kinds of things affecting a match?
05:10Yeah, for sure. I think, you know, we're playing for too much on the line for that
05:15not to be a thing, especially when other sports have it where, you know, maybe they don't
05:21even have as much of the resources tennis has financially. So I definitely think that,
05:26you know, it should be, especially at the slams, it should be here in a thousand tournaments.
05:30And obviously I would like to see it across all levels, but you know, I definitely would
05:34love to see at the highest of levels first. So it's, US Open had it last year. I didn't
05:40have to use it, but hopefully I won't have to use it this year, but I think it's a great,
05:46great thing. And, and, you know, the worst is when you get apologized to afterwards and
05:52it's kind of just like, thanks, but you know, what is that going to do for me now? So I
05:57think I'll just hold everybody accountable. I think there'll be a lot less player frustration
06:01and outbursts with that. So I'm excited. I hope to see you see it continue to expand
06:07on not just in this tournament, but all tournaments. And I think the fans would appreciate it too,
06:13because I think there's nothing more frustrated for a fan to like go and see that happen to
06:18their player. And you're seeing that your player is right or wrong and they, the player
06:23itself doesn't know. So yeah, hopefully you know, that continues to grow.
06:28We know that you, hi, we know that you've met and spoken with Michelle Obama. If you
06:34had the chance to sit down with Kamala Harris, what would you want to discuss with her or
06:39ask her?
06:40Yeah, I haven't gotten, I've only briefly spoke to her when she congratulated me for
06:44U.S. Open last year. What I would ask her, maybe just her story, like her personal story
06:52growing up and how she got to this point in her life. Obviously, I know just from watching
06:59like, you know, her speeches and learning about her story, but I guess from a more personal
07:03perspective, because I know her mother was an immigrant and just, you know, I think anybody
07:08really, it's kind of crazy to see how a person can, you know, be like one of us and then
07:13become the president of the United States or vice president of the United States.
07:18So I think I would ask her just her story and how, you know, what were the stepping
07:24stones to that point? Because I think at one point almost every kid said they were going
07:28to be the next president of the United States. And, you know, and so it'd be cool to see,
07:34hear her story from her perspective and not, I guess, on the news and stuff.
07:37Did you ever say that?
07:39To her?
07:40No.
07:41That you were going to be the next president of the United States.
07:42I mean, I never like wrote it because I knew I always wanted to be a tennis player, but
07:46like I always thought, you know, I don't know. I feel like as a super young kid, like four
07:50or five, I always, you know, you see the kid, I don't know if any of you heard like the
07:54kid president and you're like, I want to be like him. So yeah, there's been, I'm sure
07:58there was like a thought in my head at that age that I would be the next president or
08:01like the queen of England or something crazy like that. But then you get older and you
08:06realize the reality is not like that.
08:09Matt, just a reminder, you cannot shoot from the seat. Okay. Thank you, Matt.
08:14Matt Futterman, Athletic. So how have things been different coming back this year as a
08:21champion and whether it's seeing your name or your picture or just routines different
08:26at all?
08:28Not really. Cause I feel like I was in a crazy position last year where there was a lot surrounding
08:33me like before this, even before I was a Grand Slam champion. So like, you know, I'm bad
08:39to basically the same busy pre-week this week as I had last week, last year, not last week,
08:45but last year pre-week of US Open. So I think that's what I mean where it's like, it was
08:50a little bit easier coming into all of this as a Grand Slam champion because of like the
08:54gradual rise I've had in the sport when it came to the amount of attention I was getting.
08:58So honestly, this week hasn't been much different other than people like saying I'm the defending
09:03champion. But other than that, it's literally, I feel like it's been the same amount of attention,
09:07the same amount of, you know, sponsor commitments and all of that.
09:11Last two. And then Willie, you have the last question.
09:13How are you doing? Adeshina Corky, USOpen.org. You mentioned the mantra that you have now.
09:18If you're defending, that means you won something. How recent was it that you came up with it?
09:24And also compared to last year, when you talked about how your doubters motivated you,
09:30is that mantra the way you kind of motivate yourself more going into this year outside
09:35just wanting to win?
09:36Yeah. Honestly, like a couple of days ago, somebody commented on my TikTok and in the
09:41comment you said, why stress yourself out over, you know, it said you've won literally
09:48and figuratively, why stress yourself out over a victory lap? And I was like, that's
09:53actually a good perspective. You know, no one can take that from me. So it's like, why
09:58stress myself over something that I already have? And then I'm just, you know, wanting
10:02to add to that, whether it happens here in two weeks or next year here or at Australia
10:08or whatever. There's no point. So I think that I saw that comment like three days ago
10:12and I was like, okay, I'm gonna stick by that and use that because it really changed my
10:17perspective coming into this. And yeah, I still use the doubters as motivation. I mean,
10:21I know people have said, you know, things about me online and will continue to for the
10:26rest of my life. But, you know, I know it comes just out of a sense of, I don't know,
10:32maybe hatred or jealousy. I don't know. But for me, I never root on people's downfalls
10:38regardless of who you are. I'll never root on somebody's downfall and I'll always root
10:42for success. So I just wish the rest of the world or people were like that, which most
10:47of them are, but there's always like the 2% that, you know, like to have their moment
10:51every now and then.
10:52Willie, last question.
10:53Hi, Coco.
10:54Hi.
10:55How would you describe the last year of your life since you won here?
11:00Honestly, I hate to say it, but it's not as different as people think it's become. Like
11:07I said before, I think I just had such a gradual rise into this sport. Like obviously, it hit
11:12the stone at 15 where everything, you know, was coming at me fast. But ever since then,
11:17year after year, it's just been gradual. So I think all that time prepped me to better
11:22prepare for this moment. So I wasn't such a steer in headlines and everything wasn't
11:27so crazy. So I felt like I was being prepared for that. So that's why I'm grateful that,
11:32you know, I don't know, some people thought I was going to win one at like 15 or 16, which
11:35was crazy. I wasn't going to do that. But I think that it just helped me prepare me
11:39for now. And so I think now coming in, I'm going to enjoy it. So yeah, I think it hasn't
11:46really, my life hasn't been too different other than a little bit of more attention.
11:50But I feel like every year has been different because it's always been a gradual rise of
11:54attention. And I think next year, whether I win this or not, I'll still have maybe a
11:59little bit more of attention just because that just seems the way my life is going,
12:04which is great because I can continue to use that platform to spread positivity, spread
12:08light and spread good messages into the world. So I'm grateful for that. It's not, I don't,
12:15I'll never say that it, it, I'm not grateful for it because I know this is what I wanted
12:20to do since I was young. And all of this is just a plus.