Gauff Determined Ahead of Miami Tournament: "I Feel Fit"
After reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open at the start of the season, Coco Gauff has since struggled to truly kick off her season. The American, ranked world No. 3, was defeated early in Doha and Dubai, and didn't fare better at Indian Wells, where she was knocked out in the round of 16 by Belinda Bencic.
Now, the 21-year-old player aims to shine in Miami, a tournament where she was defeated in the round of 16 by Caroline Garcia last year. Speaking at a press conference, the winner of last year's WTA Finals in Riyadh hopes to improve in the coming weeks but remains fairly confident about it.
"For me, the pressure doesn't come from playing here or elsewhere. There will always be people cheering me on. But I've always faced tough opponents here in Miami, and the tournament falls at a very challenging time in the season with four consecutive WTA 1000 tournaments.
It will be tough, but I feel fit. The loss at Indian Wells gave me time to recover, so I can hope to do well here. People forget that I'm 21 years old. In everyday life, I feel very young, but I already have quite a bit of experience on the tour, as I've been playing for six years now.
I think starting to play so young doesn't give me the same patience in certain comments as my colleagues. It's clear that I'm not satisfied with my recent results, but throughout my career, I've had periods with ups and downs.
If I weren't in the top 5, we wouldn't even be talking about it. But when you're a top player, people expect you to win, and that's what I expect from myself too. There are good weeks and not-so-good weeks, but that's life.
I would like to be perfect and always play flawlessly, but unfortunately, that's not the case. I fight to get there, knowing I'll never fully achieve it, but I try to get as close as possible," assured Gauff, who will face Petra Kvitova or Sofia Kenin in her opening match, according to statements collected by Super Tennis.
