"I thought the person won and they didn’t" - Coco Gauff reminisces on awkward locker room moments after first round victory

Coco Gauff had very little issues in getting an opening win in this year's Australian Open, fending off Kamila Rakhimova 6-2, 6-3. After the match, she opened up on the awkward situations she went through in the locker room while offering an update on the prize money situation.

Four of the first five games were breaks, but Gauff managed to be better off for it, sailing into a 4-1 lead. She closed out the first set with ease before racing into a 5-1 advantage. Rakhimova looked like she was attempting a comeback, but it was too much of an uphill task, with the world number three avoiding any upset in the first round.

"I’m really happy with how today went," she said in her press conference. "Kamila is a tough first round. She can make a lot of balls and she plays really low. I think her and Jess probably hit the flattest. It wasn’t the easiest at moments, but I got through."

It is no secret that Gauff is currently struggling with her serve. The American has been held back by it at times in her career, really struggling last year where she was racking up far more double faults than anyone else on tour. A bug factor in this was the sun.

"It was really just the first set. I only had one double fault in the second," she said. "I think both of us were struggling on the far side — the sun is right there. Every time I play first on during the day here, that’s just how it is."

As the match went on, she improved vastly. "Once I got through the first game — I had like three doubles in that game — after that it was pretty much smooth sailing. Maybe I would have liked to put more first serves in, for sure. But I just erased that first game from my mind, and after that it was better."

After her serving performance in the second set, the 21-year-old knows what to do in her next match. "Given my opponent, I felt like spinning the ball worked well," she commented. "But I don’t think I was accelerating enough, which is why a lot of the doubles went into the net. As the match went on, I told myself to accelerate more, and when that happens I get more speed and velocity. Next match, I’ll definitely try to start a little quicker."

That next matchup will be against Olga Danilovic, who fought from a 4-0 deficit to defeat Venus Williams in a thriller on the opening day of first round action. "I think she’s a great player. She’s had good results here, and I remember she beat Jess [Pegula] a couple of years ago," Gauff said. "She had a good match last night. She’s talented, and it’ll be tough. I don’t often play lefties, so that will be a challenge, but if I stay with my game, hopefully I can come out with a good result."

Players share the locker rooms before and after matches, which can lead to some very awkward moments. "Yeah, it can be awkward," Gauff admitted. "I had an awkward one after a match — I won’t say who — but I thought the person won and they didn’t. I was like, 'Oh,' and they were like, 'No,' and I was like, 'Oh.' But they took it well."

Fortunately, it was someone she knew and no irreversible damage was done. "Sometimes you don’t know whether to speak to someone if you haven’t seen their score. Usually I’m pretty good at that, but today I messed up. Luckily, she’s someone I know and she’s super sweet."

Gauff explains how it can be awkward even saying the simplest of things to opponents she does not know, with their response varying. "With opponents, it can be awkward too. You say hello, but with people you know well it’s fine — you’ll say, 'See you out there.' With people you don’t know, you don’t know whether to say hi," she explained. "I usually always say hi, but the responses vary, which I understand."

It can also be hard to read the room. "The hardest part is seeing someone who played that day but not knowing how their match went and what mood they’re in. I once said, “Oh, it must have gone well,” because they were eating candy, and they said, 'No, this is depression candy.'"

Throughout the last few years, Gauff has sparked a great rivalry with Iga Swiatek. The six-time Grand Slam champion used to enjoy supremacy over Gauff, usually always getting the better of her opponent. However, it seems that it has turned in the favour of the American in recent times, with Gauff coming out on top in their last four matches without even dropping a set.

"That was really the only head-to-head I felt bad about. In the past, I used to think about it so much because you just want to get that one win," she acknowledged. "Once I got it, I kind of erased the other matches. She’s a great player and deserved those wins, but I felt like some of the losses early on were already a mental deficit for me."

A large part of it was the mental aspect, which dealt with opened the door to a lot of success. "Once I erased that mental deficit, I was able to play free. It was difficult to navigate, but now I just erase the head-to-head from my mind. I can’t change the past, but I learned from it, and in future matches I won’t start with that mental deficit."

Prize money in the sport has been an ongoing debate for some time now. The players have come together in solidarity against the Grand Slams and tennis organisations as they look to get a fairer spread of prize money throughout the sport. The reporter asked Gauff whether the situation could escalate into protests, in which she ruled that out of the time being.

"As of right now, I haven’t heard any rumours of that happening. I do know players are going to put more pressure on the Slams if certain things aren’t met," Gauff answered. "Any action like that would have to be a collective decision. So far, we’re all aligned on what we’ve pushed for, but I haven’t heard anything about protests happening."