American teenager Coco Gauff believes her French Open quarter-final defeat to Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova would ultimately help her become a Grand Slam champion.
The 17-year-old player was playing in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time on Wednesday and lost to the unseeded Barbora 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 in a back-and-forth battle.
Coco, who had 41 unforced errors, trailed 5-0 in the second set before briefly threatening a comeback in a fighting finish and believes the experience will prove to be beneficial, reports DPA.
"Yeah, I mean, I'm obviously disappointed that I wasn't able to close out the first set. To be honest, it's in the past, it already happened. After the match, my hitting partner told me this match will probably make me a champion in the future. I really do believe that" she said.
2019 Wimbledon Qualifying Tournament. Wikimedia Commons
"I never want to give up. I really did fight till the last point. I'm proud that I didn't give up because I could have easily given up at 5-0 or 5-1 [down in the second set]. I think losing these matches is going to pay off in the future. If I continue fighting like this, other players, maybe if they do have the lead, will start to get nervous because they know I'm not going to give in."
A return to Wimbledon, where she stunned the world to reach the fourth round as a 15-year-old in 2019, is now fast approaching for Coco.
"I'm excited to go back, for sure. My most memorable thing from Wimbledon is just the crowd experience," she said.
"That was like one of my first matches on a big stadium like that, playing against really great people like Venus Williams. I'm just happy that right now I'm healthy. Hopefully, that keeps up all the way through Wimbledon." (IANS/KB)
(who is Coco Gauff, American professional tennis player, tennis athlete, Grand Slam champion)