Coco Gauff backs ‘nice guy’ Nick Kyrgios to win US Open

Rising American tennis star Coco Gauff believes people get the wrong idea with Nick Kyrgios whom she has backed to win the US Open.

Gauff said that Kyrgios might rub people up the wrong way on the court but is a champion human being away from the spotlight.

Coco Gauff backs Nick Kyrgios

“I know there’s things on the court that he [Nick Kyrgios] does that people don’t agree with,” Gauff said after she beat compatriot Madison Keys on Friday.

“I probably don’t agree with some things.

“Overall I think he’s a nice person. At least he’s always been to me. I remember I first hit with him, he probably doesn’t remember this, I was 13 years old at Miami Open. He finished his practice, hit with me for, like, 30 minutes.

“It’s just things like that that stands out for me. That’s why I feel like I can never dislike him.

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“Again, when I was 14 at Miami Open again, he finished a two-hour practice,” she said of Nick Kyrgios.

“I think with Frances Tiafoe. I remember saying, ‘There’s no way he’s going to want to hit with me.’ He just ground it out for two hours. He actually stayed and hit with me for an hour again.

“It’s just moments like that that people don’t really see about him. So I think people paint him as a bad guy. I feel around the grounds, at least my experience of him, he’s not.

“I think in the end it helped me in the long run as a player hitting with him. He told me good things about my game. At that time I’m like, ‘Nick Kyrgios thinks I’m a good player.’ You start to believe that and gain confidence in that.”

Gauff says she will root for Nick Kyrgios no matter who he is playing against.

“If he keeps it up, I think he can go far,” the 18-year-old said. “He can win the tournament. We all know he has the ability to. He was close at Wimbledon.

“I always, always root for him, no matter who he’s playing, to be honest.”