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Coco Gauff credited a 'bleep the final' mentality for her resilience early in the 2023 French Open

May 31, 2023, 02:00 IST
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Coco Gauff celebrates during her opening match of the 2023 French Open.AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias
  • Coco Gauff came back from a set down to win her opening match of the 2023 French Open.
  • The 19-year-old American tennis star credited a "bleep the final" mentality for her resilience.
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Coco Gauff isn't dwelling on the past, and it's helping her dig deep on the tennis court.

The 19-year-old American superstar, who advanced all the way to the final at Roland-Garros less than a year ago, has opted to focus squarely on the here and now rather than putting pressure on herself to reach those same heights two years in a row. She credited that mentality for her massive comeback in the first round of the 2023 French Open.

Gauff, who is ranked at number six in the women's game, dropped her opening set against Spain's Rebeka Masarova 3-6 on Tuesday. While many players, especially ones as young as her, might have struggled with the weight of lofty expectations in such a trying moment, the 2022 tournament runner-up gave herself the freedom to be present.

"Honestly, I can't say this word, but I was like 'Bleep the final,'" Gauff said in her on-court interview after the match. "It's 2023. It's in the past. So I'm not worried about that."

"And then, in the second set, same thing — bleep the first set," she added. "It's over."

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Gauff maintained her composure, winning 12 of the next 15 games en route to the come-from-behind match victory. When asked to further elaborate on her "bleep the final" comment, the teen clarified that she "already learned from" that experience, so there's no use in fixating on it a full year later.

"I know what I did last year, and I know where I messed up and I know what I did good," Gauff told the Tennis Channel. "At this point, I'm a new person, so it's just focusing on the present."

The Atlanta native is set to take on Austrian Julia Grabher in the second round. They've faced each other once before, with Gauff taking the straight-set victory, but it seems unlikely she'll keep that in mind come Thursday's match.

She's too busy focusing on what's in front of her.

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