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American tennis star Cori Gauff revealed a funny scene from the French Open as she was lost for words after Rafael Nadal tapped her on the shoulder and said "good job." Gauff, 18, enjoyed a great French Open, having reached her maiden Grand Slam final before losing to Iga Swiatek.
Nadal was certainly following Gauff and he made sure to congratulate to the American when he saw her. Gauff was in shock after Nadal tapped her on the shoulder and congratulated her as the Spaniard was well gone when she finally responded.
“They mean a lot to me. Rafa is one of the greatest in this sport, if not the greatest. I see him in the players' area, he's very nice. He always intimidates me because he is Rafa. I remember that at Roland Garros he slapped me on the shoulder and said: 'Good job'
I answered him when he had already passed the corridor because I was shocked,” Gauff said, per Sportskeeda. “He is one of the best players. We see each other every week, but he continues to impress. Like with Nole, Roger, Serena or Venus.
Hearing that from him is great, I hope to live up to expectations."
Gauff: Hard still my favorite surface
Gauff considered hard as her favorite surface but was it was clay where she reached her maiden Grand Slam final.
After reaching the semifinal in Berlin, Gauff reached the Wimbledon third round. In the Wimbledon third round, Gauff suffered a three-set loss to fellow compatriot Amanda Anisimova. Even though grass is not Gauff's favorite surface, she hopes to win on the surface in the future.
“Growing up, I didn't imagine myself being comfortable on grass or clay. Hardcourt is still my favorite because you know what you are going to get. Playing on an unpredictable surface [like grass] I attribute to my speed and ability to react and adjust accordingly. I think that's what you need. My ultimate goal is to win the trophy on all surfaces,” Gauff said.