/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2024/08/07/image-933698b5-9e08-4bfc-8eab-cd772cfa8080-85-2560-1440.jpeg "Coco Gauff is happy about a “new opportunity” as last year’s champion prepares to defend her title at the 2024 US Open")
Last year’s US Open champion Coco Gauff is approaching New York with a “new motto” and is preparing to defend her title.
The American will play her first match against Varvara Gracheva on Monday and will try to defend the crown after winning her first and only Grand Slam title in 2023.
While Gauff only reached the fourth round at Wimbledon earlier this summer, she was eliminated in the semifinals at both the Australian Open and the French Open this season.
However, in a conversation with the press before her debut in New York, Gauff said she was looking forward to the increased pressure as defending champion.
She said: “Yes, it’s a new year for a new opportunity. I’m really happy to be back here and have a great tournament.”
“Of course, it brings a little pressure to compete as defending champion, but it is also a privilege because my new motto is: if you defend, you have already won something. I am happy to be back here and hopefully have two good weeks.”
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Gauff had only reached the round of 32 in the warm-up tournament for the Cincinnati Masters, but given her recent participation in the Olympic Games in Paris, an early loss did not worry her too much.
She explained: “Yeah, I mean, of course I wanted to go to Cincinnati and win, but I had more realistic ideas in my head, having just come from the Olympics and, you know, changing surfaces so quickly.
“So my main focus was to be as ready as possible for here, which I think turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I lost so early because I was actually able to train, which I hadn’t been able to do before. I get my best results when I come out of a training block.
“I was able to train for a good week and a half and of course I still have a few days left. The last few training sessions went really well, which wasn’t so great before, for example in Cincinnati, the training in Toronto wasn’t so great.
“I’ve had great training sessions here, which doesn’t mean I’ll play great in the game, but it gives you more confidence when you train really well the week before a tournament, yes.”
