Teenager Coco Gauff brimming with confidence ahead of Roland Garros

Incredible performances in Italy have instilled unwavering confidence in 17-year-old American tennis player Coco Gauff ahead of the prestigious Roland Garros. The past two weeks have seen the teenager climb 10 places to be ranked 25th. She has already reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and she will be seeded for the first time in her career at the French Open. Gauff recently reached the semi-final of the WTA 1000 in Rome, followed by her maiden title on clay in Parma. The clay-court Grand Slam will be a competition she will be hoping to do exceedingly well in as she looks to get her career off to a dream start.

“I feel really good about going into the French,” Gauff said.

“I hope I can continue to build and keep getting better. I feel like I’m hitting good, moving good, my body feels good, my mentality and emotionally I feel good. So I think it will be a good tournament for me,” she added.

THE NEW GENERATION

The teenager is set to be the youngest seed at the French Open in 15 years since Nicole Vaidisova was seeded at the Wimbledon in 2006. The American also clinched the doubles crown in Parma with Caty McNally. Thereby, she became the youngest player to complete the sweep in almost 17 years since Maria Sharapova won both titles in Birmingham in 2004.

“It’s not a surface that people associate me with, so it feels good,” Gauff continued. “I like the dirt now. I always talk about how I don’t like it, but I like it now. Clay shows you a little extra love than the other surfaces do. It’s just going home, taking a shower, and I have clay coming out of me from all different places, or clay still in my clothes from weeks later,” she concluded.

The teenager devastated China’s Wang Qiang in the final of the Challenger Parma, IT. The Ameican won the match in straight sets (6-1 6-3) to take the crown home. In the doubles, she and Caty McNally beat Andreja Klepac and Darija Jurak 6-3, 6-2 in the final.