Coco Gauff credits Jimmy Butler for her mental switch
Coco Gauff super fan, and NBA star, Jimmy Butler was once again spotted inside Arthur Ashe Stadium for another Gauff win as she advanced to the US Open quarterfinals on Sunday.
Butler has become a fixture at the US Open, and in particular when the American tennis star is on the court.
The two have developed a friendship and respect for one another, with Butler praising the way she competes during an interview with ESPN and Gauff crediting Butler for her play on the court.
“I learned a lot watching him, everybody counting him out. … You have people that are talented and don’t have the mentality. He has the talent and the mentality,” Gauff told reporters recently.
“That’s something I learned from [him]. Honestly, that’s part of the reason I’d say that switch I had in the last couple weeks. People think some incredible thing happened, but realistically two weeks between Wimbledon and the next tournament I played, nothing could’ve really changed that much. It was really just the mental thing. That’s what I learned from watching Jimmy compete.”
Gauff defeated Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to move on to the quarters, hoping for a better result this time around than last year when she was knocked out in that round.
She’ll face either No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek or No. 20 Jelena Ostapenko in the next round.
Butler has been blown away by what he’s seen from Gauff.
“She’s so emotional in a good way and she’s a champion,“ Butler told ESPN last week. “I love her that she’s from the city that I work in. I just love to be here to support her. I want her to win every single time, nothing against anybody else, but I’m a Coco fan.”
With Gauff headed to the quarterfinals, it would be hard to imagine Butler won’t be somewhere in the stadium on Tuesday.
“I still am like, ‘Man, this guy is busy, why is he coming to watch me play?’ It’s a really cool experience. I’m just happy I guess and really honored,” Gauff told the US Open website about Butler.