Coco Gauff reveals she thought about Beyoncé to keep her relaxed after going a set down in US Open third round win: ‘I was thinking about the Renaissance Tour’
Coco Gauff reveals she thought of Beyoncé to keep her relaxed after a set-down in the third round of the US Open: ‘I was thinking about the Renaissance Tour’
Coco Gauff has revealed she was thinking about Beyoncé during her US Open third-round win against Elise Mertens, with the American claiming she thinks of “a lot of things outside of tennis” when she plays competitively.
Following her three-set win on Friday night (3-6, 6-3, 6-3), the 19-year-old shared what went through her mind when she was behind or winning on the court.
“When I play tennis, I think about a lot of things outside of tennis,” Gauff told reporters. ‘During my race I thought about the Renaissance Tour. I think about many different things and honesty, it keeps me relaxed.
“I don’t know if it’s a coping mechanism or something… but yeah, I was thinking about Marvel today… obviously about the Biebers… there were a lot of things I was thinking about… but yeah, today was just a nice evening.’
The world No. 6, who attended Beyoncé’s pre-French Open concert in May, also joked that Bieber inspired her comeback win against Mertens, admitting she told herself to do whatever it took to to win in front of one of her favorite artists.
Coco Gauff revealed that she was thinking about Beyoncé during her comeback win against Elise Mertens
Gauff, 19, is a fan of ‘Queen B’ and attended the artist’s Renaissance Tour in May this year
“I thought I couldn’t lose to him!” Gauff said.
Bieber, his wife Hailey, NBA star Jimmy Butler and actress Katie Holmes all attended Friday night’s main game at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Gauff said she knew she played for several A-listers, who cheered her on and confessed that their presence pushed her to extend her winning streak in New York.
“I definitely saw who was there,” Gauff told ESPN. “I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, Justin Bieber!’ At that moment it was 2-3 in the second set. I thought, “I can’t lose to Justin Bieber”. I haven’t lost a game after seeing that!’
Gauff also considers Justin Bieber one of her favorite artists (Bieber with his wife Hailey)
Actress Katie Holmes was also in the crowd on Friday to see Gauff in action at Arthur Ashe
“I got a little edgy when I first saw him, and then I reminded myself that President Obama and Michelle Obama were at my first-round game…I’m fangirling right now.”
The Obamas witnessed Gauff’s comeback win against Laura Siegemund on opening night (Aug. 28), but the tennis star admitted she was “starstuck” by Bieber.
‘Never Say Never’ was one of my favorite songs when I was little. And then ‘Baby, Oh Baby’… I could go through all his songs,” Gauff said.
And then Hailey came too. I think it was a little date night for them, which is really cool.”