American rising star Coco Gauff has what it takes to become a Grand Slam champion, according to one of her rivals on the WTA Tour.
Simona Halep has hailed the rapid development of the 18-year-old ahead of their clash at the National Bank Open in Toronto. Gauff is currently the youngest player in the world’s top 20 on the WTA Tour but has already played in the main draw of a major 12 times. Her best performance occurred at this year’s French Open where she reached the final before losing to Iga Swiatek. She has also reached the fourth round at Wimbledon twice and the Australian Open once.
Halep was the first player to defeat Gauff in a major at the 2019 Wimbledon championships. Since then, the former world No.1 says she has been impressed by her opponent’s development on the Tour.
“I feel she is improving so much mentally and also as a person. She’s super matured since we played together when she was 15 in Wimbledon,” Halep told reporters on Thursday.
“She’s a great person. She’s super nice. And I feel like she’s going to be a Grand Slam champion soon. She has everything to do that. I also feel that she really wants it.’
“So she’s improving a lot. I feel like every day she’s improving, which is great to see.”
Halep, who was 26 when she won her first Grand Slam title, will renew her rivalry with Gauff in Toronto on Friday. It will be the third meeting between the two this year with Halep winning both of their previous meetings in straight sets. Overall, she is yet to drop a set against the American on the Tour.
“She’s a very tough opponent. And she’s super young. She’s powerful, she’s strong, solid. So it’s going to be a tough match like always,” said Halep. “We played a few times together. It’s a big challenge for me again to play quarters here in Canada. I feel confident, but I know that it’s going to be tough.”
En route to the quarter-finals, the Romanian has dropped just 15 games in three matches played. Besides being a two-time National Bank Open champion, she is the most successful player in the history of WTA 1000 events in terms of match wins. According to the WTA, she has recorded 182 wins which is five more than second place Victoria Azarenka.
Gauff’s route to her latest meeting with Halep has been considerably tougher. In her previous two matches she came through marathon encounters against Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka. However, there is a positive side to these encounters.
“It definitely gives me a lot of confidence because I know I can tough it out in those tough moments. These are the type of players that I need to have to beat if I want to win a Grand Slam,” Gauff said after beating Sabalenka.
“So these matches are giving me more confidence. And I know how it feels in those moments against these players. They’re not going to give you anything and you shouldn’t expect that.”
Gauff is the second-highest ranked player remaining in the tournament after Jessica Pegula.
