Coco Gauff was only two months ago embarrassingly bounced from Wimbledon in the first round. Today? Gauff’s in top form. She won the tuneup tournament in Cincinnati less than two weeks ago, toppling No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the final. At Flushing this year, she’s the best hope for the first American champion — men or women — since Sloane Stephens in 2017. The adjustment, Gauff said, was strictly mental. And it was inspired by one of her loyal fans, NBA star Jimmy Butler, who watched from courtside Wednesday as Gauff trounced Mirra Andreeva in the second round, 6-3, 6-2. “That switch I had in the last couple weeks. people think some incredible thing happened,” the sixth-seeded Gauff said. “But realistically, the two weeks between Wimbledon and the next tournament I played, nothing could have really changed that much. It was really just the mental thing. I think that’s what I learned from watching Jimmy compete over the years.” -via New York Daily News / August 30, 2023
