Coco Gauff admits she was distracted by Beyonce and Justin Bieber during US Open
Coco Gauff has joked Beyonce and Justin Bieber were going through her mind during her third-round match at the US Open.
The teenager played Belgium’s Elise Bertens under the bright lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium and defeated the 27-year-old 3-6, 6-3, 6-0. After coming through a tough match, the American said the two music icons helped to keep her calm and focused during her match.
“Tonight I was thinking about everything sometimes. When I’m playing tennis I’m thinking about a lot of things outside of tennis,” the teenager said in her post-match press conference. "I was thinking about the Renaissance Tour (Beyonce's world tour) during my match. I think about a lot of different things. Honestly it keeps me relaxed. I don’t know if it’s a coping mechanism. I thought about Marvel today, there's a lot of things, the Biebers.”
Music star Bieber was in the crowd as Gauff booked her place in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows. The two-time Grammy Award winner was accompanied by his wife Hailey Bieber as they enjoyed the action on court. Gauff said looking on the big screen during the match and seeing the Canadian in the audience helped inspire her comeback.
“I definitely saw who was there,” the 19-year-old said. “I thought, ‘I cannot lose in front of Justin Bieber.’ I didn’t lose a game after I saw that. I got a little tight when I first saw him, then I remembered President (Barack) Obama and Michelle Obama were at my first-round match.
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“I was definitely star-struck with Justin. ‘Never Say Never’ was … one of my favorite songs when I was a kid. Then ‘Baby, Oh, Baby.’ I could go through all his songs. Then Hailey, too, coming. I guess it was a little date night for them, which was really cool.” Bieber was seen greeting world number 10 Francis Tiafoe who was watching his compatriot in action after he defeated Frenchman Adrian Mannarinoe earlier in the day. Gauff’s friend and NBA star Jimmy Butler also watched on.
However, Beyonce is one celebrity who has not yet seen Gauff play and the sixth seed said she would leave her completely starstruck. “If (Beyoncé) ever came, oh, my goodness, I hope they would not show her on the screen. Maybe at the end,” she shared. Gauff was pushed hard by Bertens, and the 32nd seed took the first set to the dismay of the New York crowd.
Justin Bieber was in the crowd watching Coco Gauff at the US Open (GC Images)But Gauff, who won just 34% of the points behind her second serve last night, overcame those woes to take a back-and-forth second set. With the audience cheering her on, she stormed through the third without losing a game to complete the victory and struck 30 winners during the course of the match.
After completing her second comeback victory at this year’s US Open, Gauff shared some insight into what helped her turn the match around. “When you lose the first set, you know, you have to show that you left all that energy in the first set and you're ready to play," she explained. "So that’s why tennis in the women's is two to three sets. So after I lost the first I told myself there's still a lot of game left and a lot of the match to play.
"Thank you guys thank you guys so much that today definitely helped me. I felt you guys always playing every point my heart is. So thank you so much for being behind me.” Gauff’s fourth-round match will be a first meeting with Caroline Wozniacki, whose excellent comeback after a three-year absence continues.
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