When it comes to tennis, there are only a few who are as loved and adored as Coco Gauff. The 20-year-old American Star, who is well known for her on-court brilliance is not only admired by her peers but by the fans as well. Ben Shelton is no exception. The rising American prodigy, in a recent press conference at the ongoing US Open, talked about the hype surrounding Gauff.
After securing an easy straight-set win against Dominic Thiem, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, the American star came ahead and spoke about Gauff. When asked about why fans adore Gauff, Shelton believed her nickname, “Coco,” is catchy and easy to remember, which, accompanied with charisma and athletic personality, is why people love her. He also gave a shout to Gauff’s parents, Corey and Candi, for giving her such a name.
He further said, “She’s charasmatic. Such a great athlete. Has so many qualities out there that resemble a male player. The way she moves and the way she can defend. You see something from her that’s special and different. She plays with a lot of passion. You can tell she cares out there. She’s into it every time she’s out on court. I think that’s something people love,” said Shelton in the post-match presser after his round 1 victory.
He believes these qualities: her memorable name, athleticism, charisma, and passion, make Gauff special and are the reasons why so many people love watching her play.
This is one of the few moments where Shelton gives an endearing comment about Gauff. Their conversations usually involve banter, with the two riffing on each other. Posting a picture from the ‘Mixed Madness,‘ where he partnered with Gauff, Shelton replied, “cocogauff my bad imma change the caption to “played with a b-m” 😂,” after Taylor Fritz wrote he didn’t read the caption.
Ben Shelton, in the interview, came ahead and talked about what made Gauff special. This even included him calling out her name ‘Coco‘ which has been very popular amongst her fans. But, how did the name come from? Gauff has an answer to that. However, it is a very disputable one.
Coco Gauff talks about how she got her first name
In a post-match press conference following her win at the US Open, a reporter asked her about the statements made by Ben Shelton about her name. Responding to this, she suggested that she has a very interesting story behind the name. Gauff admitted that there are two stories about how the name came about: one was that her aunt claims she came up with it.
“My dad’s name is Corey, and so I guess, you know, they didn’t want me to get my dad and me confused when my mom is like yelling at one of us in the house. Coco, there’s like two stories. My aunt says she came up with calling me Coco. But then my dad said when he was younger people used to call me Co. Then he was like, ‘I’ll call my daughter Coco.’ I don’t know which story is actually true, but they both get pretty bad if I don’t say both of them,” said Gauff in the post-match interview.
Thus, Gauff, despite being just 20 years old, has been a key figure in American tennis. With not only her on-court presence and aura, she misses no chance to interact with her fans, which makes her a lovable person. Coming into the US Open as a title defender, will she be able to keep up with the expectations and retain the title?
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