Lindsay Davenport was as happy as anyone for Coco Gauff after the young tennis star achieved her dream of becoming a Grand Slam champion as the American tennis legend cried for five minutes straight.
If you can recall, Gauff hit one of the lowest points of her career after losing in the 2023 Wimbledon first round to Sofia Kenin. At the time, the current world No. 2 was dealing with major issues on her serve and nothing appeared to be working for her. But then all of a sudden, she flipped the page and became a WTA 1000 winner in Cincinnati before also making it all the way at the US Open.
In the 2023 title match at Flushing Meadows, Gauff took on Aryna Sabalenka, who had become a Slam winner earlier that year in Australia. The Belarusian made a convincing start, while her rival appeared to be crumbling under the pressure early on. Then, the situation completely changed as the American stormed back to win 2-6 6-3 6-2.
Davenport: I didn't speak for five minutes after Gauff's 2023 US Open win, I only cried
Davenport, who covered the 2023 US Open edition for Tennis Channel, got emotional as soon as the women's title match ended.
“Coco winning the US Open was totally overwhelming. I remember being with Mary Carillo, and neither one of us spoke for five minutes, we just had all these tears coming down," the former three-time Grand Slam champion told Sports Illustrated.
At the time of her triumph, Gauff was 19. Earlier that year, the American repeated several times that her big goal was to become a Grand Slam champion as a teenager – she achieved that goal just six months before her 20th birthday.
In late May and early June, Gauff completed a triumphant run at the French Open and now she has two Majors in her collection.
