Coco Gauff has heaped praise on her fellow American Jessica Pegula after narrowly winning their Wimbledon quarterfinal.
Gauff has been surprised by her Wimbledon run, which now continues with a semifinal against Karolina Muchova.
But fatigue may just come into play for the WTA superstar, who has now played four successive three-set matches at the tournament.
The latest involved beating Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, after which Gauff was asked just how she made it past her compatriot.
Give us your one crazy prediction for the second week of Wimbledon!
Coco Gauff praises ‘relentless’ Jessica Pegula after beating her at Wimbledon
Gauff explained on Tennis Channel: “I think just trusting myself. I think Jess is such a tough opponent. And honestly yeah I mean, I have belief in myself.
“But I think I would pick her as the favorite maybe on this surface today, and especially like the way that I started off the tournament, maybe not playing so well.
“But today I definitely think that I found my rhythm towards the middle of the second set, and it was smooth sailing from there.”
She was then reminded about playing four out of her five matches at Wimbledon in three sets, as well as being told that over half of her matches this year have been three-setters.
Sharing what that does to her mentality, Gauff said: “I mean, I think it shows like I definitely am better at the distance.
“I definitely would like to win two sets. But I don’t know, I think when I’m playing tough opponents, it’s almost impossible sometimes. All the players on Tour are so good.
“And especially Jess is just so tough, and she’s one of those players like she doesn’t really go up or down, she kind of stays like the whole match and just so relentless.
“So I kind of expected it to be three sets to be honest. I was hoping to be two, but after I lost the first, I was like ‘another one’.”
While Gauff continued her streak of winning three-set matches, the result brought an end to an impressive Pegula run.
She was dominating her fellow Americans this year before meeting Gauff, enjoying an 8-0 winning streak against her compatriots in 2026.
Jim Courier praises ‘grinder’ Coco Gauff after latest Wimbledon win
Along with Gauff’s own verdict, former ATP number one Jim Courier has given his take on his fellow American.
Suggesting what toll four three-set wins takes on a player, he said on Tennis Channel: “Yeah, isn’t it a great question that it’s about the mental and not the physical?
“Seems like physically she just, she can go… she’s like an energizer bunny, doesn’t have any problem playing these long matches.
“She’s supremely fit. Obviously does all the work necessary off the court.
“But because she’s had to be a grinder, she’s built for this. This is what she kind of comes out to do every day. She’s like ‘whatever it takes’.
“And in these tournaments, even easier I think than some of the one-week events when you’ve got to go back-to-back-to-back.
“She gets a day to rest and reset and get ready for a big match incoming in that semifinal.”
It is indeed a huge match for the 22-year-old, which she enters with a very intriguing history with Muchova.
Gauff boasts a fantastic 6-1 head-to-head record with her Czech rival, but Muchova won their most recent match in Stuttgart earlier this year.
