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Tennis fans couldn't help but poke fun at Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou's congratulatory message for Coco Gauff following her triumph at the 2023 US Open.
Gauff won her maiden Grand Slam title after defeating soon-to-be World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final on Saturday, September 9. Despite losing the opening set convincingly, the American displayed remarkable resilience as she bounced back strongly to claim a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory in just over two hours.
With her win, the 19-year-old became the 10th teenager to win the US Open women's title. She also made history as the first American teenager to secure victory at the New York Major since Serena Williams won in 1999 at 17 years of age.
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Patrick Mouratoglou, who briefly collaborated with Coco Gauff during her campaign at the 2023 French Open, shared a congratulatory message for the American on social media. He conveyed his immense pride in the 19-year-old for her impressive victory.
"COCO! Just incredibly proud of her," Mouratoglou posted.
Mouartoglou's post elicited hilarious reactions from tennis fans, with many cleverly employing a popular meme featuring the well-known Canadian singer and rapper Drake, to joke about the message.
"Bro thinks he's on the team," a fan commented.
Likewise, some fans opted for another popular meme format featuring past comments made by American popstar Demi Lovato, warning the Frenchman to maintain a distance from Gauff.
"Get a job, stay away from her, etc," another fan posted.
Here are a few more fan reactions:
"To those who thought were putting water in my fire, you really added gas to it" - Coco Gauff hits back at naysayers following US Open triumph
During the post-match trophy presentation, Coco Gauff spared some words of acknowledgement for everyone who did not believe in her, recalling that her doubters had persisted even after she won her maiden WTA 500 and WTA 1000 titles in the lead-up to the US Open.
"Honestly, thank you to the people who didn't believe me. I mean, like a month ago I won a 500 title and people said I would stop at that. Two weeks ago I won a 1000 title and people were saying that was the biggest it was gonna get. So three weeks later I'm here with this trophy right now," Coco Gauff said.
The American thanked her doubters for fueling her determination to win and pushing her over the line even though it wasn't their intention to do so.
"I tried my best to carry this with grace and I've been doing my best. So honestly to those who thought were putting water in my fire, you're really added gas to it. And now I'm really burning so bright right now," she added.
Coco Gauff will rise to a career-high ranking of World No.3 on Monday, following her triumph at the 2023 US Open. Runner-up Aryna Sabalenka will claim the top spot in the WTA rankings for the first time in her career.
