Latest / Bleacher Report / Coco Gauff Talks Win vs. Taylor Townsend & Heat at Roland-Garros

Transcript

Coco Gauff Talks Win vs. Taylor Townsend & Heat at Roland-Garros · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I don't want to be here anymore.
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: This is the wonder of this moment.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: I was just complimenting Sloan and then they're over here,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: like nobody told me.
• 0:11
  Speaker 3: We were live.
• 0:12
  Speaker 4: We are.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: It's okay, Hi, everyone, welcome the crowd.
• 0:19
  Speaker 5: You look cute too, Sorry, yeah, nothing nothing for this.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's okay.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: Would you like to give a compliment to you Banks?
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: No, I think I'm a pass but you you guys
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: look good? Yeah, thank you, Coco.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: You talked about it after the match. Being from Florida
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: used to be heat. Be honest, you used to this
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: heat or is this even up there for you?
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: No? I mean I'm used to it, Like it definitely
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: gets hot in Florida. I don't think I'm used to
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: it like being this hot in Europe. So like it's
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: been a while since we played in these conditions. So
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: but I definitely think like the changeovers felt felt a
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: little bit quick to Honestly, by the time I got
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: my eyes it was like, oh it's time to stand up.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: So but no, I think being for Florida definitely helps
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: a little bit. And honestly, before the match, I was
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: making sure to hydrate like more than I usually do.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: And I took a cold shower, which I'd never do,
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: just trying to like not prepare for today, but for
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: later in the tournament.
• 1:17
  Speaker 6: Sure, slow, Well, I was out there and it was
• 1:21
  Speaker 6: very hot.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: For me for sitting.
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: So it's like, oh my god.
• 1:26
  Speaker 6: When you were down early in the first set, you
• 1:30
  Speaker 6: kind of hit a switch at three to one when
• 1:31
  Speaker 6: your down break point, and I was saying that you
• 1:33
  Speaker 6: were just rock solid from that point on. Did you
• 1:36
  Speaker 6: feel that you started making more balls and more more
• 1:38
  Speaker 6: consistent or when your mind? What were you feeling on
• 1:40
  Speaker 6: the court.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I felt like I was a little
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: nervous going in, so I felt like the intensity on
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: my ball wasn't really that strong, and Taylor was capitalizing
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: off of that, and so I felt like I had
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: to go for more and after three one, I went
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: a little bit up intention because I felt like sometimes
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: I was going my ball was spraying. So I think
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: once I felt comfortab with I don't know how was
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: how I was on the court. It felt like it
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: was smooth sailing from there.
• 2:04
  Speaker 6: Did you feel like the ball was moving through the
• 2:06
  Speaker 6: core paster today obviously hotter the ball was going up
• 2:09
  Speaker 6: intention but did you feel it. Obviously you've played a
• 2:11
  Speaker 6: lot of matches on Chachia, so you know the difference.
• 2:13
  Speaker 6: But did you feel that the ball was moving through
• 2:15
  Speaker 6: a lot quicker?
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely, I felt like the ball was bouncing a
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: lot higher. I felt like, I mean, she hit one
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: serve I was hitting. I felt like I was hitting overhead.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: So I definitely felt like the conditions were a lot
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: of bouncier, and especially like coming from Rome where it
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: was going so slow. So it was definitely an adjustment.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: But I definitely think I can learn how to like
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: capitalize that off more and maybe I felt like I
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: helped my serve a little bit today too.
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: Oh go. When the flight court season started, I saw
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: one of your interviews where you said that even though
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: you've had great results on the Red Flag, when you
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: hear last year finals a few years before, it actually
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: is not your favorite surface. What's the relationship? Why is
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: it not your favorite surface?
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Well, I mean to start, I mean, I keep I've
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: only won one, fine, don't on the circus it was
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: the most the most important one. But no, I don't know,
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: I just feel like throughout the clay season there, you know,
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Clay's like three I don't know. It just feels like
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: three different surfaces I'm playing on, Like I play stuck
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: Art not really, I don't think the type of clay
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: that suits my game. And then I play Madrid, which
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: actually been finding to play better there, and then Rome,
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: which is slower, and now here it's like faster. So
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: I don't know, it's just not my favorite surface, and
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: growing up on hard, I just feel like you know
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: what you're gonna get. It's true, I can change the RECs,
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: and I don't know, it just feels a little bit
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: more predictable.
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: It's never easy playing a friend. The draw comes out
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: on Thursday, you're playing Taylor Townsend. You guys went to
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: dinner together on Saturday. Yeah, did you guys talk about
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: the match at all or was it No, we're not
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: talking about tennis tonight. We're just gonna be friends.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: No, we didn't talk about the match actually at all. Yeah,
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: we didn't talk about anything tennis like related with our
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: match at all. But yeah, actually I saw. I was
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: at the draw ceremony, so I saw like immediately, and yeah,
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: it's never like easy playing someone that you know. Obviously
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: you want us to both do well, but you know,
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: we're both competitors and can leave things off the court.
• 4:10
  Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, I don't. I'm not about to try
• 4:13
  Speaker 5: to make this super formal. So on your rides to
• 4:16
  Speaker 5: the course today, obviously coming back as a defending champion,
• 4:19
  Speaker 5: I'm sure there's got to be a lot of good
• 4:21
  Speaker 5: memories of.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: On over here, you know, because he knows what happened.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: So basically he wants a T and T exclusive. So
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: we kind of got in like a mini car accident
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: on my way to the site.
• 4:36
  Speaker 5: What happened?
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: What iss happened?
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: She knows he's using it, no, because so there's like
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: this poll thing and it's supposed to go down, and
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: then the police told him to go and the poll
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: was still there. So we ran into it and it
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: was kind of like, you know, you felt a little impact.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: I spilled my juice all over there and I was like,
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: we can keep going.
• 5:00
  Speaker 5: Then I walk out the.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: Car and it was the car was not driveable. So
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: we end up taking a taxi to John Buan and
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: then we took a tournament car to the tournament. I
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: feel like it's a good omen. Maybe everything happening in
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: my first round.
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: Ye I was about to say, I mean quite eventful. Yeah, right,
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: And then the retirement happened.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: And then right before I got on court, my dress
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: got stuck, so my Pheasia was in the bathroom, weren't
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: trying to help me, like take it off. So it
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: was an eventful day. But I feel like whatever that happens,
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: it just it lets you not think about the.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: Mask too much.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: It's more good way to look at it, more about
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: I'm just happy to be here.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: You want to be Yeah, yeah, it happened three, So
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: all three things happened.
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: Wait were you driving?
• 5:41
  Speaker 5: No.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: I sent him a text because I was like you,
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: Whenever something happens in my life, I usually text my
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: friends like you won't believe what happened. So I sent
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: him and a few others like you won't believe what happened.
• 5:51
  Speaker 5: I didn't believe what happened.
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: I couldn't believe it.
• 5:53
  Speaker 5: I had so many questions. But we were on air
• 5:55
  Speaker 5: the rally over on True TV, and I'm like, wait,
• 5:57
  Speaker 5: what's going on the first commercial break? Wow, go to
• 5:59
  Speaker 5: the voice note and trying to understand and yeah, pretty
• 6:03
  Speaker 5: crazy start to your title defense.
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: It worked out, but a good start. There was also
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: a lot of history. You mentioned it in your speech
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: there Althea Gibson seventy years I thought it was very
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: fitting that it was you and Taylor Townsend out there
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: on that court. I start reading about her and I
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: start hearing not only is you first woman of color
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: to win a slam, then she goes and plays professional
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: golf and wins that too. You hear those stories, you
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: think about what she was up against there and what
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: you being the crown champion here that seventy year gap,
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: it has to be special.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was super special. I knew going on court
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: today that they well I didn't know they were going
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: to do something after, but I just knew that that
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: was the anniversary today. So, and like you said, it
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: was super fitting for Taylor and I to be there
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: and were direct products of the legacy that Althea Gibson left.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: And I don't know, it was really nice for them
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: to do a video for her. I feel like a
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: lot of people still don't really know her story, who
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: don't who follow tennis, and I think it's something that
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: has to continuously be braided. And I'm very lucky and
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: blessed to be living the life I am today, thankful
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: for people like her paving the way.
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: You mentioned being Sincerina being role models for you, what
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: kind of responsibility you feel to leave an impact from
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: the next generation.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: You know, I know people ask me this question and
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: it's crazy. I know I'm aware of maybe I'm a
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: some type of role model, but it doesn't always feel
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: like that. So I don't know. I just feel like
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: I just try to be myself. And you know, I
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: don't really feel like I have this weight or anything
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: being carried. I just try to be myself and be
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: the not necessarily for other people, but I really I
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: try to be the best role want for my brothers,
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: which I then I guess impacts other people too, But
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: I don't know. I think as long as I show
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: up as myself and being me is the best.
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: You said something the other day that I thought was
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: quite fascinating because you said it's not just seeing the
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: good side. Sometimes when you make mistakes, you show that
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: you're human and that is good for other people to see.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I think for me, it was up watching stray
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: and obviously she was not one the whole back of
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: her emotions on court, and I think, I don't know,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: I realized that I don't have to I don't know,
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: be that type of maybe Roger esk and he's he's him,
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: And I think for me, it just shows the mistakes
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: and learned from so people can learn from what not
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: to do. And usually I learned from myself too. But
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: I think for me, I don't try to be anything
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: but myself. And I could sit there and say, hey, yeah,
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: that I didn't act the best that day in Rome.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: I said that after my press conference, but then I
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: showed up the next day and acted a lot better.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: So I think it just shows growth and the I'm
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: out here learning and someone else will learn to.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: Being Coco Golf is enough, Chris, because you got the exclusive?
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: Do you want another crack?
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: You want another question?
• 8:41
  Speaker 5: I'll tell to her later.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: I'm all okay, all right, I get exclusive to the fan,
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: so we have we got a true star here when
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: your mind signed some balls and oh yeah this is
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: a new Thank you so much, everybody.
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: Some love for Coco Golf.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: Please thank you?
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: All right?
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: So now I got to ask, how many is this
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: a group text that you is wrong?
• 9:00
  Speaker 6: Now you're just being noses infinite time.
• 9:04
  Speaker 4: Now at some special you trying to get more?
• 9:09
  Speaker 5: How about this contol said, I know nothing. I don't
• 9:14
  Speaker 5: nothing added to this interview.
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: I don't know about you. Already showed your charge. He
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: wasn't supposed to be here, that's a whole.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: But I came for you.
• 9:22
  Speaker 5: I'm excited that you're I didn't come for you. This
• 9:26
  Speaker 5: is what to you because you meet it with that
• 9:28
  Speaker 5: type of energy, A
• 9:30
  Speaker 4: Shining star, Coco, thank you.