American teenager inspired with her tennis and her words on Tuesday at Roland-Garros
©Julien Crosnier / FFTAt 18 years of age, American Coco Gauff is the youngest player remaining in the draw, but the Floridian is an old soul that is wise well beyond her years.
After Gauff defeated compatriot Sloane Stephens to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final on Tuesday, the No.18 seed handed out some pearls of wisdom during her on-court interview with Mats Wilander.
The message? Love yourself, no matter what...
"I believe in myself but I think even last year I was too focused on trying to fulfil other people’s expectations. I think you should just enjoy life," said the No.18 seed.
"No matter how good or bad my career is I think I’m a great person so I think that's a message for all the young players out there that your results - even in life in general - or your job or how much money you make doesn’t define you as a person. So just know that if you love yourself, who cares what anyone else thinks."
The high-flying teen also talked about a recent off-court achievement that she is extremely proud of: getting her high school degree. Gauff told the crowd that finishing the degree was even more difficult than getting to a Roland-Garros semi-final.
"Just because I know how hard it was to do school and play tennis on the road," she explained. "I think sometimes other players in general get out of sight with life and we kind of think that tennis is the most important thing in the world and it's not. I think getting my high school diploma meant a lot to me."
The American's next exam will come in the semi-finals against Italy's Martina Trevisan.
It was a big day in the wheelchair men's singles draw, as Japan's Tokito Oda became the youngest male wheelchair player to ever win a match at a Grand Slam.
Just a few weeks past his 16th birthday, the hard-hitting left-hander eased to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Nicolas Peifer of France.
He took his triumph in stride.
“I was a little bit nervous because this is Roland-Garros, a Grand Slam,” he told rolandgarros.com. “I played my power shots, my forehand and backhand. The serve was a little bad, but I was able to win.”
The rising Japanese will face Great Britain's No.4 seed Gordon Reid in the second round.
He's eager to let it fly on his Paris debut.
“I’m still young, I’m 16,” he said. “Of course I have pressure, but I don’t have to give in to pressure. I just have to be aggressive and go for it.”
© Loïc Wacziak/FFTSince winning the 2022 Australian Open boys' singles title, American Bruno Kuzuhara has set his sights on the pro game.
"I did something that I always wanted to do, which was be able to turn pro and I turned pro right after Australia," he told rolandgarros.com after his 6-3, 7-5 second-round win over Frenchman Sean Cuenin on Court 7.
Kuzuhara is playing free in Paris. He said winning the boys' title in Melbourne was a perspective changer for him.
"I was really happy but I think I felt more relieved as well," he said. "Because one of my big goals for this year and even last year was to be able to win a junior Slam and being able to do that really took a lot of the weight off my back."
Here in Paris, the 18-year-old is bidding to become the first boy to win the first two junior Slams of a season since Gael Monfils in 2004.
He's hungry for another triumph.
"I mean, that's always the goal," he said. "It's always the way I think you go into every tournament - the goal is to win."
His next challenge comes in the form of Belgium's Gilles Arnaud Bailly in round three.
© Corinne Dubreuil/FFTThe Legends tournament kicked off on Tuesday at Roland-Garros with past champions and superstars converging in Paris to reconnect with their former friends and rivals, as well as their adoring fans.
2010 champion Francesca Schiavone and her partner Flavia Pennetta were out on the Jean Bouin practice courts early, polishing up their games with Argentinians Gabriela Sabatini and Gisela Dulko. It must have been a high-quality practice - both tandems won their opening matches early on Day 10.
World No.1 and top seed Iga Swiatek won't have much time to celebrate her birthday this year, and that's the way she likes it.
Why? Because it means she's deep in the draw and playing for the title. That said the Polish star says she will make some time to have some fun before she settles in to watch Tuesday night's marquee match-up between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on television.
"I never plan things for my own birthday - it's not like I'm going to throw a party in the locker room," Swiatek wrote in her latest column for the BBC. "I just hope I will get a proper rest after practice. But I heard my team have prepared something fun for me - so we will see."
Swiatek says she won't be inside Court Phillipe-Chatrier for the blockbuster quarter-final, but rest assured, she'll be watching her idol Nadal.
"During the tournament I need to be focused on my own preparations, my rest and my routine," she wrote. "That's why I won't be going to watch the quarter-final in the stadium.
"But, like always, I'll be rooting for Rafa."
Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune have already carved a slice of Grand Slam history at Roland-Garros this year by becoming the first pair of teenagers to reach the men's quarter-finals at the same Grand Slam since 1994, when 19-year-olds Hendrik Dreekmann of Germany and Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine achieved the feat.
Today, Les Petits As posted this adorable footage of the duo on the same side of the net as juniors in 2017.
ROLAND-GARROS
20 May - 9 June 2024
