"My dad will just disrespect people" - Coco Gauff hilariously compares her on-court mentality to her father's

Coco Gauff dominated fellow American Alycia Parks 6-0, 6-2 during their second-round encounter at the Australian Open on Friday (January 19). The American is yet to drop a single set in her Melbourne campaign.

Speaking to the press following her win, Coco Gauff was asked about how her competitive mindset differs from her father Corey and younger brother Codey. The 19-year-old explained that while her brother, who is passionate about baseball, is soft in his approach towards his opponents, her father doesn't shy away from being ruthless.

"Yeah, I think the biggest thing I talk about with Codey, not necessarily the aspects of the sport, but more so the mentality of the sport. He's someone that I think puts his competitors on too much of a pedestal, or he used to," Gauff said during her press conference.

"I think it's like a fine line of showing respect to your opponents, still putting them, but believing you can do it. My dad has the opposite mentality where he'll just disrespect people."

Coco Gauff added that she had struck the balance between being respectful and displaying a fierce attitude on the court.

"I think I have the balance of knowing like, yeah, she's great, she's good at what she does, but also I can beat her. I think that was one thing I spoke to him about," she added.

"Tennis is that sport where you have to lead yourself, not other people" - Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff plays a forehand at the 2024 Australian Open

During the press conference, the reigning US Open champion also delved deeper into the differences between tennis and baseball. She stated that her brother Codey is responsible for leading his baseball team as a catcher and a batter, before insisting that her tennis experience can be far more isolated.

"Also just being a leader on the field. The pitcher and the catcher probably have the most leading roles in baseball. Sometimes the catcher often times is the most leadership role," Gauff said. "You have to notice when your pitcher is off when to call time and all of that."

"That is something I did speak to him about, be more of a leader on the field. Tennis is that sport where you have to lead yourself, not other people. It's not as easy when you're not somebody who is as social as easily to lead a whole team. But he's done a lot better the last couple months..." she added. "The little things matter so much more, especially in tennis and in baseball."

Coco Gauff will next face Magdalena Frech for a place in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Australian Open. The American will be eager to record her first last-eight appearance at the Happy Slam, having fallen at the fourth-round hurdle in 2020 and 2023.