Tennis is an exhausting game and it is not surprising when tiredness and aggression get the better of players.
However, there are moments when your faith in the beauty of this game is restored. Naomi Osaka’s sweet gesture towards Coco Gauff after beating her in a US Open match was one of them.
Having beaten her 15-year-old opponent 6-3,6-0, 2-time Grand Slam winner Osaka invited her for a joint after-match interview. To this, Gauff said no, adding that ‘she’d be crying all the time’.
Not the one to give in, Osaka told her it’s still better than going and crying inside. She finally convinced Gauff for giving the interview, something that understandably touched the youngest woman to win 2 matches at the US Open since 1996.
Speaking about this, Gauff noted:
She told me I did amazing. I’m going to learn from this whole match, she’s been so sweet to me. I don’t want people to think I am taking this moment away from her.
Twitter was all praise for Osaka, who showed such humility after her win and even apologised to Gauff by saying, “I’m so sorry for playing you (with) this type of mentality”. This was in context with her current rocky form and aggression to turn things for the better.