World No. 3 Coco Gauff continues her good run at the 2024 Miami Open. On the back of her consecutive straight-set wins, she has reached the fourth round at the WTA-1000 event. Following her win in the third round, she spoke about her growing bond with former World No. 1 and tennis great Chris Evert .
Evert was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, a second diagnosis of cancer. The 69-year-old had earlier battled ovarian cancer. She, however, recovered fully in May 2022 and went on to state that she was 90% assured by her doctors that the cancer is not returning.
But to her misfortune, she had to restart her treatment in December 2023 due to breast cancer. As the tennis fraternity continues to wish good health for her, Gauff disclosed her relationship with the 18-time singles Grand Slam title winner.
While Gauff was honest in admitting to not watching Evert’s game while she was growing up, she admitted to watching the tapes now. As the reigning US Open champ continues to grow in stature, she has been in frequent touch with the 69-year-old for advice and regular check-ins.
She's a very, very kind person. She texts me sometimes. I always try to text her, especially with the recent news of her illness and everything. As far as like her impact on tennis, she's definitely one of the first names people think of. Just timeless. said Gauff speaking in the press conference.
The 20-year-old further clarified that she has not based her backhand on Evert’s legendary shot. She tried it initially, but her team couldn’t replicate it. As a result, Gauff opted to try and copy Novak Djokovic‘s backhand, but Evert has remained an inspirational figure.
I wouldn't say I modeled my backhand after hers. Well, my team tried, then I tried to model it after Novak Djokovic a lot. That's where that inspiration comes from. Yeah, she's definitely obviously very knowledgeable of the game, a very kind person. added the youngster
Coco Gauff reveals receiving occasional texts from Roger Federer
Gauff further mentioned her relationship with Evert, with a small sneak peek into their conversations. The majority of the texts, however, remained an analysis of her performances in certain matches with praise for the good results.
A lot of her messages are just advice on some matches or just, ‘Good job, How are you doing,’ regular messages. I do get some messages from past players, not as many as people would think. continued Gauff.
Similarly, Gauff mentioned Roger Federer being one of the many former players who has been in touch with her. The Swiss maestro had also wished her after she was featured on the cover of the prestigious Vogue magazine before her 20th birthday.
Once a blue moon, Roger will send me a message. That's always pretty cool when he does. I can't think of any on the top of my head other than those two right now. But there’s more for sure. concluded Gauff
The current American No. 1 would bank on this advice as she continues her pursuit of her maiden Miami Open title. Being a Floridian, the event in Miami is certainly one of the ‘home events’ for Gauff.
She will now take on 23rd-seeded Caroline Garcia for a place in the quarter-finals of singles. As for doubles, she had partnered with Jessica Pegula but they lost in the first round itself.
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