"Brad teaches me all these weird quotes from 80s California, and makes me listen to the Eagles" - Coco Gauff on working with Andre Agassi's ex-coach

Coco Gauff has shed light on her experience of working with Brad Gilbert, whose influence over her goes beyond tennis.

Gauff made a shock opening-round exit at the Wimbledon Championships this year. Following that, she restructured her coaching team by keeping Spaniard Pere Riba as her primary coach while adding Brad Gilbert as a consultant.

Gilbert, a former World No. 4, has previously coached the likes of Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick. He is also an author and has worked as a commentator and analyst.

The partnership has immediately borne results as the 19-year-old ended her slump with her Citi Open win last week. During her victory speech, she thanked Gilbert for his work and the 61-year-old responded by thumping his chest and giving her a thumbs up.

At a press conference in Montreal ahead of her 2023 Canadian Open campaign, Gauff spoke about learning various languages and the influence of Riba and Gilbert on her.

"[I do not speak French] well. I'm on my 26th day with Duolingo, I'm not very good at it, but I'm trying. At the moment in my team, Pere [Riba] and Maria speak Spanish and they are trying to teach me this language, so my brain is all mixed up," she stated.

"And Brad teaches me all these weird quotes from 80s California, and makes me listen to the Eagles. I was confusing it with the Philadelphia Eagles!" she added.

"There are too many things going on at the same time in my team at the moment, everyone wants me to learn something about them, so I'm working on it! My physical trainer is French, my physio and my coach are Spanish, Brad speaks his own language. One does what one can," she exclaimed.

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With a new coaching team in tow, Coco Gauff overcomes forehand issues en route Citi Open title win

Coco Gauff in action at the 2023 Citi Open

While Coco Gauff can be considered a well-rounded player who has improved leaps and bounds since turning pro in 2018, there has always been one notable chink in her armor — her forehand.

Several players have targeted the American's forehand side across tournaments in a bid to unsettle her and turn the match in their favor. However, at the recently concluded Citi Open, Gauff was able to use her forehand effectively, surprising her opponents along the way.

At her press conference after clinching the title, she expressed pride at being able to disrupt everyone's tactical plans en route to her fourth WTA Tour single victory.

"Pretty clear what everybody's going to play, how everybody's going to play me on the scouting report is pretty clear. I think that consistently this week I have beaten that scouting report, and I think that's why the players tend to get a little more frustrated. Almost all week every player that I played has been looking at their box, because I truly think that the plan that they had I was able to kind of come combat that," she expressed.

With renewed confidence, Gauff will next compete at the Canadian Open, where she is set to take part in both the singles and the doubles.