Coco Gauff ’embarrasses’ Andy Roddick whenever US Open champions get together
There were high hopes for Coco Gauff when she was named a USA flag-bearer at the Olympics Opening Ceremony.
The world no. 2 tennis player waved the Stars and Stripes alongside male flag-bearer LeBron James on a distinctly wet and windy Parisian night - before being dumped out of the Games just days later.
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A tearful and visibly emotion Gauff was knocked out of the women's singles by Croatia's Donna Vekic in the third round at Roland Garros.
The 20-year-old then suffered defeats in the women’s doubles and mixed doubles, ending her Paris trip prematurely and leaving her 0 for 3 for medals.
However, the reigning US Open champion has experienced plenty of setbacks before and bounced back better than ever.
Coco Gauff shows her rise in tennis from 15-years-old and reveals how she was heavily inspired by Serena Williams
Fellow US Open champion and super server Andy Roddick is full of admiration for 'the next Serena Williams', and admits she 'embarrasses' him -- in a good way -- whenever he's around her.
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During a recent discussion on the Tennis Channel Live Podcast, the retired tennis icon praised Gauff for her intelligence and confidence, while saying she puts his 20-year-old self to shame.
"She is a grown-up," Roddick said.
"Like, I am embarrassed for the 20-yo version of myself whenever am around her.
"Honestly. She is phenomenal, she is intelligent, she is talented and confident...She is just great.
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"You can also see her teammates, don't regret her, like generally, they like her. They really, really do and I think it's just a huge deal for tennis to be friend-setter."
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Gauff had the best year of her young career in 2023, capturing her maiden Grand Slam singles title on home soil at the US Open.
In 2024 she collected her first major doubles title at the French Open but suffered a tough semi-final defeat in the singles to world no. 1 Iga Swiatek.
The Team USA star was making her Olympics debut in Paris after missing the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games after testing positive for COVID-19 right before she was due to fly to Japan.
After her singles defeat to Vekic, Gauff and top-seeded partner Jessica Pegula were upset in the second round of the women's doubles by Czech duo of Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova.
That same night, Gauff and Taylor Fritz exited the mixed doubles after a loss to Canadian pair Gabby Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
“At the end of the day, it’s over,” Gauff said. “I’ll try to take the positive out of it and do better next time.”
“I thought I had a good chance in all three events.”
Gauff will now gear up for the summer hard-court season and two big WTA 1000 tournaments - The National Bank Open in Toronto and 2024 Cincinnati Open.
That North American run will culminate with the final slam of the season at Flushing Meadows, New York in late August, where Gauff will attempt to defend her US Open crown.
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