By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Coco Gauff’s march into the Australian Open fourth round on Friday came without her most ardent supporter in her player’s box — a deliberate family decision after her dad proved too wound-up to watch courtside.
The twice Grand Slam champion said her dad Corey was somewhere at Melbourne Park as she overhauled Hailey Baptiste 3-6 6-0 6-3 in an all-American matchup at Margaret Court Arena.
He just wasn’t anywhere she could see.
“No, it’s other people who tell me (where he is),” she told reporters with a smile.
“Yeah, the reason why is he can’t control his reactions.
“It’s not necessarily for me but for him. I told him, ‘We’ve just got to cut it’.”
Corey Gauff might have felt nervous on Friday as the free-swinging Baptiste broke his daughter twice and took the first set.
That was if he watched the match at all.
Gauff’s dad missed the winning moment of the 2023 U.S. Open final, her first Grand Slam triumph.
“I heard when I won the U.S. Open he was in the gym, and the TV was behind so the gym attendant had to tell him I actually won. So he needed to run out and greet me in the crowd,” said Gauff, who won her second Grand Slam title last year at Roland Garros.
“I don’t know where he was in the French Open. You probably know more than I do,” she said.
“Yeah, I’ve heard he’s all around the site usually locked in on the screen and just pacing.”
Famous for racking up double-faults, Gauff improved her serve over the course of the match against the world number 70, and ended up a convincing winner ahead of a tough fourth round test against Czech 19th seed Karolina Muchova.
“I think at this point I have the right motion. I feel like I’m working on the right things,” she said of her serve.
“Now it’s just trying to, I guess, erase old demons and actually do it.
“Hopefully, as I continue to get better with that stroke, I think the results will be more consistent — because I actually will not be giving away 20 points in a match from double-faulting.”
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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