Coco Gauff breaks down in tears after another US Open battle and thanks ‘inspiration’ Simone Biles in on-court interview

COCO GAUFF broke down in tears during her US Open second-round win — and then thanked gymnastics GOAT Simone Biles for helping her pull through.

The American, 21, endured an emotional rollercoaster on Thursday evening, especially in the first half of her 7-6 6-2 victory over Croatian Donna Vekic on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

After being broken at 4-4 in the first set following a double fault, she sat in her chair, placed her head in her towel and started bawling.

And when she spoke to an ESPN reporter on-court following the one-hour, 39-minute win, she had to stop talking as she started to cry.

The female journalist had made an embarrassing mistake of calling Gauff “Simone” before the interview had started.

It was a scrappy, far-from-smooth encounter with 18 double faults – 10 for Vekic – and ten breaks of serve and Gauff was relieved to get through the first-set tie-break.

Seven-time Olympic gold medallist Biles, 28, was in the crowd and loved watching the 2023 US Open champion prevail, weeks after she had changed her coaching set-up and as she tries to change her serve motion.

Gauff, who now plays Pole Magdalena Frech in round three, said she thought about Biles, specifically the skill and nerve she shows on the balance beam at the Olympics, and this helped her during the difficult moments.

Gauff, the world No.3, said: “Honestly, I saw her, and honestly, I don’t know if she’s up there, but she helped me pull it out.

“I was just thinking, if she can go on a six-inch beam and do that with all the pressures of the world, then I can hit the ball in this 75-metre…I don’t know how big this court is.

“So, yeah, I saw her late in the second getting interviewed by ESPN.

“Yeah, it brought me a little bit of calm, just knowing her story with all the things she went through mentally.

“So, she’s an inspiration, and her presence definitely did help me.

“Honestly, today was a tough match for me, but I’m just happy with how I was able to manage.

“It’s been a rough couple of weeks, but I’m just happy to be back on this court, and you guys bring me so much joy.

“You guys really help me a lot. I’m doing this for myself but I am also doing it for you, and no matter how tough it gets inside, you can do it.

“I feed off it a lot. Yeah, I mean I’ve had some tough moments on this court, and you guys pull me through each time, so I really do appreciate it.

“That first set was tough for me, but you guys stayed cheering for me.

“I was just trying to tell myself to breathe and honestly just putting another ball on the court and just trying to remember the things that I do well.

“I honestly don’t remember a lot at the end of the first set, to be honest. But it’s kind of amazing that I was able to get out of that one.

“Once I was able to reset, I went to the bathroom, splashed some water on my face, and after that I felt a lot better out here.”

Biles, who is married to Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, said: “Coco has brought me back.

“I think she is incredible, amazing. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“So it’s such a privilege to watch her on home soil. Watch black girl magic.

“Her grace and humility – she is amazing on and off the court. I think that says a lot about who she is as a person. It’s so exciteing to watch that in person.”