Former US Open champion Andy Roddick gave his honest take on women’s World No. 3 Coco Gauff’s earlier comments at the United Cup in Perth, Australia, where she called out American fans for not showing up in large numbers to support their players. She observed that fans from other countries were in decent numbers and more animated than those from the USA.
After receiving backlash on her controversial comment, Gauff clarified her statements in a press conference just before she was set to face Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the United Cup. “I‘m going to clarify because people are dragging this out of context,” said Gauff.
“Those from smaller countries come with their colors and flags, and it is clear who they are supporting. I was just speaking from my perspective… Nevertheless, I am grateful for any support, no matter how big or small it is,” she concluded.
Now jumping to her defense right before the Australian Open commences, Roddick, in the latest episode of the Served podcast, said that Gauff’s comments were taken entirely out of context and that she faced online criticism unnecessarily.
“So Coco’s thing in Australia got completely taken out of context. So Australia is like, you go to the grounds and you have the Serbians and the Croatians and then the, like these factions of, of fans live there, you know, from other places. We just don’t have that. Right,” said Roddick.
“So, United Cup, you’re not going to get a thousand Americans to go out. And that’s what she was saying. She wasn’t saying anything about the macro version of us fandom for her. She was saying that in this one event, in this three-day stretch, Poland gets more support. Everyone, calm down,” he added.
Coco Gauff Has a Relatively Easier Draw at the Australian Open
Gauff learnt her potential path to the Australian Open finals after the draws were officially announced on January 15. The 21-year-old American will kickstart her campaign against Kamilla Rakhimova, after which she could potentially face Venus Williams if the veteran defeats Olga Danilovic in her first-round match.
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and Karolina Muchova or Emma Navarro could be her potential opponents in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. Gauff could then face either Mirra Andreeva or Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, setting up a potential finals clash against World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
If Gauff gets past the semifinal stage, she could potentially face six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in a mouthwatering final. The American is already a two-time Grand Slam champion and will be eyeing a third in Melbourne, Australia.
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