"He'd satisfy, give himself a pat on the back but time to move on": Gauff loves to evoke Mamba Mentality in maiden Grand Slam run-in

America’s young tennis star Coco Gauff has revealed that she has a similar mentality to the one late NBA star Kobe Bryant.

The 19-year-old once again shows why she is so highly rated in the circuit as she booked her place in the final of the US Open 2023.

Gauff defeated Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova in the semifinal of the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-5 on Thursday.

Talking ahead of her maiden US Open final, the Atlanta-born revealed that she has a similar kind of mentality as Bryant had during his days at the top of the ladder where he never used to give up and was never satisfied with his success as well.

"Yeah. Definitely. He's, like, has an incredible mentality,” she said. “One of the things is when he's up and, you know, the finals, NBA Finals when they're up in the count or 3-1, whatever lead they have, he doesn't celebrate. He'd satisfy, give himself a pat on the back but time to move on.

"So that's the mentality that I have. I'm trying to enjoy the moment but also knowing I still have more work to do. Yes, the final is an incredible achievement but it's something that I'm not satisfied with yet."

Bryant remains one of the most iconic players in the history of the NBA and passed away in a tragic helicopter crash back in 2020.

The current world number six is now set to face the newly-crowned world number one Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka in the grand finale at the Flashing Medows.

The 25-year-old made a stunning comeback and defeated America’s Madison Keys in the semifinal of the competition with a score of 0-6, 7-6, 7-6 on Thursday to book her place in the all-important finale.