Maybe they like me here

Coco Gauff made an honest confession while weighing in on the potential advantage she could have over fellow American Jessica Pegula in their upcoming quarter-final encounter at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

The two-time Grand Slam champion stormed into her maiden Grand Slam quarter-final after orchestrating a comeback 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Belinda Bencic. Pegula, ranked fourth in the world, has qualified for her second last-eight appearance at the All England Club.

Pegula, who has never played at Centre Court, will step onto the venue for the first time in her career. On the eve of the quarter-final clash, Gauff doesn’t feel her experience of playing at Centre Court will be an advantage over the highly experienced Pegula.

“Well, I don’t think it would be an advantage if I played or not. Maybe if I’m playing first round and I’m playing someone who’s younger and never really been in this circumstance or even quarters, I don’t know, maybe someone younger. That doesn’t always work. Maybe that,” Coco Gauff said while speaking to the media.

“But as far as Jess, no, she has too much experience on the big stages. I don’t think that will play a role in the match at all. It’s kind of crazy. I’ve been lucky to play on that court. I don’t know why. I never had a good track record here. It was kind of crazy,” she added.

Coco Gauff revisited the fond memory of making her Wimbledon debut at the age of 15 in 2019. Since then, the 22-year-old has regularly featured at Centre Court and scripted some memorable wins at the venue.

“I remember early in my career being surprised they scheduled me on first. Even the year when I was 15, they put me on Centre Court. I had one good match. I’m definitely honored to have good experiences on that court. But it is crazy when you think about it, the careers Madi and Jess had. I just say it’s lucky. Maybe they like me here,” Gauff concluded.

Gauff will have the opportunity to avenge her Bad Homburg final defeat while earning a spot in her first-ever Wimbledon semi-final.

Coco Gauff unlocks new aspect in her game to thrive on grass

Coco Gauff, who had been winless at Wimbledon since ousting Sonay Kartal in 2024, has added a couple of new tricks to her repertoire to find success on grass. Before facing Pegula, the 22-year-old revealed that she has improved her forehand and further enhanced it to put her opponents in a tricky spot.

“Yeah, I thought today I was hitting my forehand a lot better, being aggressive with it at moments. Honestly, playing someone like her on grass is not sometimes the best matchup for me. Super flat hitter. The grass just enhances it more. I think it definitely gives me confidence knowing I can,” she said.

“I feel like a lot of the baseline exchanges I was winning. It wasn’t all me defending, things like that. I feel like today gave me a lot of confidence. Even if I did lose the match, I still think I would have walked away with some confidence,” she added.

Coco Gauff currently trails 3-5 in her head-to-head record against Jessica Pegula. Both American stars boast a victory each on grass against each other.