American No. 1 Coco Gauff and fellow American Christopher Eubanks have a strong camaraderie that goes back to their childhood days, and the duo’s recent interview at the Australian Open embodied just that.
Gauff and Eubanks both hail from Atlanta, Georgia, and have known each other for several years now. In an exclusive interview with ESPN after her Round-of-16 win against Karolina Muchova, one of the show’s hosts conducted a quick-fire ‘Who’s Better’ session with Eubanks and Gauff.
One of the last questions of the session was who had a better forehand, to which both parties agreed that it was Eubanks who had a better forehand. Next, the co-host asked who was better in mixed doubles tennis, to which both Gauff and Eubanks named themselves, sparking a war of words.
“One of us has been number one in the world, and the other one hasn’t,” Gauff said.
“That’s not mixed doubles. I had to carry you to your first Grand Slam. We can go back and check the record,” replied Eubanks.
“You carried me? And how many wins did you get in mixed doubles after that?” Gauff interjected with the funny banter.
“I came out of retirement to try and help you,” replied Eubanks.
“Guys, just look at the ranking whose one was number one and the other wasn’t,” Gauff countered, a response that left Eubanks without a retort.
Watch the funny interaction between Gauff and Eubanks in the ESPN studio here:
Coco Gauff To Face Elina Svitolina in the Quarterfinals of the Australian Open
Gauff had a tremendous outing at the United Cup to prepare for the Australian Open, going 3-1 as Team USA reached the semifinals. In Melbourne, though the defending Roland Garros champion started with straight-set wins in the opening two rounds, she lost a set each in the third and fourth rounds to Hailey Baptiste and Karolina Muchova, respectively.
Now the competition only gets tougher as the 21-year-old American is set to face the reigning ASB Classic champion Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals at Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday.
With a win over Svitolina, Gauff could certainly face World No. 1 and tournament’s heavy favorite Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, provided the Belarusian wins her match against teenage sensation Iva Jovic.
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