Power of self-persuasion

Gauff used words and a mirror to persuade herself she could win her first French Open title

- JEROME PUGMIRE

A LITTLE bit of self-persuasion went a very long way for Coco Gauff, whose victory at the French Open gave the 21-year-old American a trophy she has long coveted, and a second Major title.

Gauff defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday to add to her US Open title two years ago. Sabalenka had been the more in-form player heading into the final and Gauff felt she needed some extra motivation.

So she drew inspiration from Gabby Thomas, who became the women's Olympic 200-meter champion at last year's Paris Olympics. Thomas had kept writing down that she would be the Olympic champion in her Notes app, so Gauff tried adopting the same approach and grabbed a piece of paper. "I wrote, 'I will be French Open champion 2025' like a bunch of times," Gauff explained. "She (Thomas) wrote 'I will be the Olympic champion' and she ended up winning the gold. I think it's a great mindset that she had."