Coco Gauff Gives Hilarious Interview After First Win as No. 2

Thursday was not only Coco Gauff's first match as the world No. 2, but it was her official start of the grass-court season. Gauff defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova, 7-6 (6), 6-2 at the ecotrans Ladies Open.

It was Gauff's first match since she lost to Iga Swiatek in the semifinals at Roland Garros, and she seemingly did not miss a beat in the transition from clay to grass.

Gauff and Alexandrova were evenly matched in the first set, going to a tiebreaker. However, Gauff looked much stronger in the second set, winning 6-2. She finished the match in less than 80 minutes at Steffi Graff Stadion.

Gauff apparently did not relealize today's match with Alexandrova was a rematch from last year. When asked what was on her mind heading into the rematch, Gauff asked, "I played her here last year?"

Coco Gauff after beating Alexandrova in Berlin

“The match you played against her here last year, was that on your mind?”

Coco: “I played her here last year?”

“Yeah. And you lost.”

Coco: “Oh. I don’t remember” 😂 pic.twitter.com/wtanT4GGKu
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 20, 2024

The interviewer replied, "Yeah. And you lost." Gauff laughed it off by saying, "Oh. I don't remember." It was the tennis equivalent of the Don Draper "I don't think about you at all" meme.

Gauff now gets a quick break as she waits to find out if she will play either Linda Noskova or Ons Jabeur in the Round of 16. Gauff recently defeated Jabeur in the quarter-finals of the French Open.

However, the past may not be prologue as Gauff has struggled on grass, and Jabeur has reached the last two Wimbledon finals. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the sport.

Further Reading: Coco Gauff's New Balance tennis shoes drop in a USA colorway for the Summer Olympics.