First-time meeting for Gauff, foe at Miami Open
MIAMI GARDENS — Coco Gauff expressed condolences Wednesday to Miami Open No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, whose boyfriend reportedly committed suicide in Miami this week.
So far, Sabalenka, who had a firstround bye, has not pulled out of the Miami Open and faces Paula Badosa Friday.
Gauff, who hails from Delray Beach, won her first Grand Slam last September by beating Sabalenka in the U.S. Open finals. Sabalenka gained revenge by beating Gauff in the semifinals of the next major – in January at the Australian Open.
The Miami death of former NHL player Konstantin Koltsov, 42, has put a pall on the women's field. Sabalenka recently moved to Miami.
“I offered her my condolences through text messages,'' Gauff said during her Media-Day press conference. “I don't think people should dig into whether or why she's playing. It's totally her process. We should leave it at that.''
Gauff, seeded third, is on opposite side of the draw of the second-seeded Australian Open champion.
Gauff opens Friday vs. Argentine Nadia Podoroska, whom she has never played. Her coach, Brad Gilbert, watched Podoroska's victory over American Ashlyn Krueger on Wednesday.
Gauff will commute from Delray Beach for the tournament. She said the downtown Miami hotel was a 30-minute drive to the Dolphins stadium while she can make it in 45 minutes – without traffic — since she lives now right by the Florida Turnpike.
Gauff said the only distraction is her little brother playing early-morning video games.
“Nice and refreshing,''' Gauff said of being at home. “I'll take the extra 15 minutes to be at home.''
Turning 20 no big deal for Gauff
Gauff turned 20 on March 13th. When she returned to Florida from Indian Wells, where she made the semifinals, the family threw a party with her father cooking up a seafood boil.
Leaving her teenaged years left her feeling no added significance. “For you guys, yeah, but for me it's just another year,'' Gauff said.
Gauff officially qualified this week for the Olympics in Paris based on her ranking and didn't even realize it was a done deal until reporters told her. She's known for a while she'd qualify.
“The goal is to medal and hopefully come home with gold,'' Gauff said. “But I really want to enjoy the experience and not make it so much pressure like other tournaments. It's probably one, twice, maybe three times I do this in my career. I want to enjoy it.''