Published 21:03 IST, July 6th 2019
Here's what Serena Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou has to say about 15-year-old tennis prodigy Cori Gauff
In an interview, coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who has been working with Cori Gauff at his academy the south of France since she was ten, spoke in detail about the 15-year-old's almost unreal run at Wimbledon 2019.
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In an interview, coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who has been working with Cori Gauff at his academy the south of France since she was ten, spoke in detail about the 15-year-old's almost unreal run at Wimbledon 2019.
Patrick, who also coaches tennis legend Serena Williams, said during the interview that he will not be talking to Gauff about her new-formed public profile and fame because it will distract her before she faces Simona Halep in the fourth round on Monday.
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He added that the 15-year-old prodigy was completely unknown when she came for the tournament, but now she's big, she's everywhere and he doesn' t want to talk to her about it right now.
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Mouratoglou also said the Wimbledon crowds already love Gauff's personality, and carrying on from there, questioned his interviewer and viewers, "When was the last time that you saw someone ranked around 300 in the world playing someone unseen on Centre Court ?"
The proud coach then stated that he feels that people love her personality, but when asked whether she could go all the way, he said that while he is highly impressed by Gauff's achievements he still believes that Serena Williams is more likely to end the tournament as champion.
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"I love that Coco (Cori Gauff's nickname) thinks she can win the tournament. I think that's great," he said. "Everything is possible in life. The chance of her winning the tournament is not big. There is always a chance when you believe and she believes. I think Serena is going to win."
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According to Mouratoglou, it was Cori's 'refusal to lose' that gave her the grit and power to save two crucial match points Polona Hercog in the third round.
"The thing that was amazing was when she was about to lose, when she was just one game from losing, I suddenly saw a light go on in her and she was playing at a different level because she was refusing to lose," he said. "And that is something that you see very rarely. You don't see that very often. That was amazing - that refusal to lose allowed her to win, twice coming from match point down."
19:17 IST, July 6th 2019