Coco Gauff opens up on US Presidential election and makes expectations claim

Coco Gauff has been creating plenty of headlines since arriving in Saudi Arabia for the first time to play in the WTA Finals and now she has done some talking on the tennis court.

Gauff defeated compatriot Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-2 in an error-strewn contest in Riyhad, after opening up prior to the match around her concerns over womens rights issues in Saudi.

As always, Gauff is hugely impressive for a 20-year-old and now she has been speaking about the US elections that will conclude with either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump sealing the keys to the White House when voting closes on Tuesday.

“I voted. I posted content trying to encourage people to vote,” Gauff told reporters.

“It’s definitely on my mind. It’s a tough time for our country, a crucial time for our country right now.

“All I can do is encourage people, especially young people, to vote and use their voice. Especially in my generation, there’s a lot of people who don’t see the power of voting. For me, I do,” Coco Gauff said.

“I don’t think it will affect me when I’m playing. It’s November 5, so 6 here, it will be a very anxious day that day. Obviously, I voted before in the past for more state, local elections, but first time voting for a presidential election. To be able to do your part felt really cool and empowering.”

Gauff’s maturity is always so impressive and in an interview with The National, she suggested her rapid rise to tennis stardom created press that is hard to live up to.

“I honestly think maybe just because of how I entered the scene – people are very critical of me. I take it as a compliment,” she said.

“Maybe they’re critical about people that they feel like can do better, so I just try to be better.

“I feel like, just certain comments, I guess maybe another player would maybe do the same result as me and I get crucified for it and they get applauded. So it’s tough sometimes.

“And sometimes I do want to clap back, but I just try to remember, when I win, I’ll be like, that’s going to be my clap back. So I do see it. It does motivate me.”

Gauff will be looking to win her first WTA Finals over the next week and to do that, she will need to excel when she meets French Open champion Iga Swiatek, who marked her return to action with an impressive fightback to beat Barbora Krejcikova 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 at the WTA Finals in Riyadh.

Swiatek, playing for the first time since losing in the US Open quarter-finals to Jessica Pegula in early September, recovered from a set and a double-break down to win in two hours and 32 minutes.

The 23-year-old has relinquished her No 1 world ranking to Aryna Sabalenka and was also playing her first match under new coach Wim Fissette after splitting with Tomasz Wiktorowski earlier this month.

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Czech Republic’s Krejcikova, reigning Wimbledon champion and current world number 13, succumbed to the pressure in the second set and was overrun in the decider.

Swiatek lost her opening service game and was made to pay as she rarely troubled Krejcikova’s serve in the first set, which she lost in 55 minutes.

Krejcikova broke again in the opening game of the second set and Swiatek lost serve for the third time in the match to trail 3-0 before launching her fightback.

The Pole took the next four games, winning against Krejcikova’s serve twice, and at 6-5 up she broke the Czech for a third time to take the set 7-5 in just over an hour and level the match.

Swiatek quickly forged into a 5-0 lead in the decider and, although Krejcikova took the next two games, the former world number one launched the defence of her WTA Finals crown with victory.

“For sure it wasn’t easy,” Swiatek said in a courtside interview. “At the beginning I felt a bit rusty but I’m happy that I found a way to play a little bit more solid because at the beginning I didn’t feel great.

“Barbora also used that so the score went her way pretty quickly. It was hard to be patient but at the end I’m just glad that I kept going, didn’t think what the score was and just tried to find my game.”

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