"His way of speaking sounded exactly like my father's, so of course, it made me smile" - Coco Gauff shares wholesome crowd moment

Coco Gauff continues to flex her muscles in the Canadian Open as he title challenge is boosted following a convincing 6-1, 6-4 victory over Maria Sakkari. During the match, a moment that made her smile was a specific fan who sounded exactly like her father.

The American was too good for her opponent, setting the standard high after going into a 4-0 lead. Sakkari got one of the breaks back but immediately found herself a double-break down again as Gauff served it out with ease.

Gauff again seized that same advantage in going 4-1 clear before backing it with a hold to move one game from the match. A short spell by the Greek saw her close the gap after winning three games but the two-time Grand Slam champion was not fazed as she got over the line for consecutive last-16 appearances in Canada.

What took her attention in the match was one particular fan offering her encouragement. The 22-year-old is accustomed to hearing positive and uplifting statements echoed around the stands when on court, but one of them sounded just like her father's voice.

She explained it after the match. “The truth is, I hear everything people say in the stands, sometimes even quite clearly. And I like that," she said. "Most of the time, it's fine. I've already had people tell me, 'Take your time,' or things like that, and I listen.

"There was someone in the crowd who reminded me of my father. I don't know why, but he barely said anything. He just said, 'Go, compañera' or 'Keep it up, compañera.' His way of speaking sounded exactly like my father's, so of course, it made me smile."

She is someone who cherishes the support and was really appreciative of the reception she gets while also finding the entertaining side of it. "But yes, I really appreciate the reactions of the crowd, and it's also quite fun. For example, when you go to get your towel, the spectators are right next to you and can whisper a few words to you. I try to listen to everything I'm told, then sort out what might be useful and what isn't.”

Since that disappointing Roland Garros title defence, things have looked up for Gauff. A hugely positive Wimbledon campaign was ended on a sombre note after missing a match point. She has got straight back into the action in a positive manner with a great start to her Canadian Open campaign.

Straight set wins over Kayla Day and Sakkari with similar scorelines have got the number four seed going with an intriguing test against 19-year-old Russian qualifier Alina Korneeva up next, who defeated Iva Jovic in the last round.

Gauff will know that she needs to keep a high level throughout the tournament if she is to secure a first Canadian Open title, and a third WTA 1000 title. She continues to try and add and improve elements of her game, one of which involving her net play which has not been utilised that often.

“I don’t usually serve and volley," she laughed when asked about a particular point. "I don’t know why I did that then. Yeah, it was just one of those calls where I probably would have been, like, Why did you do that in that moment. But honestly, I’ve been trying to come to the net more. It worked really well for me at Wimbledon, so it is something I’m trying to incorporate.

“I knew that if I hit a good serve wide that the return was going to come deep middle, and that’s kind of where it landed. So I was just hoping, I didn’t expect to get such a low volley, but, yeah, I feel like in that scenario that’s just what I went with. And I kind of smiled because I was like, I can’t believe I made that first volley. The second one was, I knew I would make that one. So, yeah, that was where the smile came in, where it was just like, I never do that.”

Her ability at the net will also be useful in the doubles. Gauff, partnered with fellow American Caty McNally, opened their account in Toronto in a remarkably tight and thrilling 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 win over Ekaterina Alexandrova and Gabriela Dabrowski, saving a match point along the way. Their next test does not get much tougher than this. The number one seeds are their last-16 test with Katerina Siniakova and Shuai Zhang the favourites for glory.