Words can’t describe what (Serena and Venus Williams) meant to me. I hope another girl can see this and believe they can do it and hopefully their name can be on this trophy too.”Gauff’s breakthrough victory will catapult her to a new level in the hierarchy of American sport.
Coco Gauff says Serena and Venus Williams are the reason she has won the US Open.American teenager Gauff picked up her first grand slam title at her home major, coming from a set down to beat Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 6-2.Gauff’s father Corey used to take his young daughter to Flushing Meadows to watch the Williams sisters in action.
And the gilded duo, with eight US Open titles between them, inspired an eight-year-old Gauff, filmed dancing in the stands inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, to follow in their footsteps.“It’s crazy. I mean, they’re the reason why I have this trophy, to be honest,” said Gauff.wasn’t too many black tennis players dominating the sport.“It was literally, at that time when I was younger, it was just them that I can remember.
“Obviously more came because of their legacy. So it made the dream more believable. But all the things that they had to go through, they made it easier for someone like me to do this.“I mean, you look back at the history with Indian Wells with Serena (when she was booed in 2001), all she had to go through, Venus fighting for equal pay.“Yeah, it’s just, like, it’s crazy and it’s an honour to be in that same kind of line-up as them.”
Gauff’s day of destiny saw her became the first American teenager to triumph at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999.The latter’s final farewell to tennis at the same championships last year left a colossal void in tennis in the US.So it felt entirely appropriate that Gauff, the heir apparent to the 23-time grand slam winner, stepped into her shoes 12 months later.
