‘Water under the bridge': Gauff keeps it classy after Sabalenka dig, sets sights on SW19
LONDON, June 29 — Coco Gauff is keen to move on from the fallout of her French Open final victory over Aryna Sabalenka as the American looks to follow in the footsteps of Serena Williams at Wimbledon.
Gauff won a tense three-set clash in stormy conditions in Paris to land her second Grand Slam earlier this month.
However, the aftermath of the match was dominated by Sabalenka's comments that Gauff didn't play 'incredibly well' and instead won 'because I made all those mistakes'.
The Belarusian has since apologised and the two showed they have put the spat behind them by posting a dance video together on TikTok on the Wimbledon grass.
'It was just water under a bridge. I know Aryna,' said Gauff at a press conference yesterday. 'We got along pretty well anyways before all that happened. It wasn't very hard to accept that apology.'
Despite a backlash against Sabalenka in the US media, Gauff said it was not hard to hold her tongue and resist the temptation to respond.
'I'm not someone that supports hate and things like that. So I thought it would be a good idea for that (the Tik Tok video) just so people can really see it and kind of move on because I think we're both tired of talking about it, to be honest.'
Williams was the last woman to do the French Open and Wimbledon double back in 2015.
Gauff admitted she is in 'new territory' as she arrives in London off the back of her first win at Roland Garros and is aiming to get beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time.
'It is a quick turnaround. I think that's the reason why this kind of double is so hard,' said the world number two.
'You go from winning such a high tournament and kind of having to be back to work not even a few days later.
'I would love to do that. Also, I'm not going to put that much pressure on myself because I've been telling my team and people around me, this is all new territory for me.'
Gauff faces Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska in round one at Wimbledon. — AFP
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