After Coco Gauff remarked she wanted to see The Iron Claw in theatres in a post-match interview, the movie’s protagonist Zac Efron took to Instagram to share his regards. The teenager reposted the story on her account and reacted to it.
Gauff made lightwork of Magdalena Frech to advance to her first-ever quarterfinal in the Australian Open. She dismantled the Polish player 6-1, 6-2 to set up a final eight clash against Marta Kostyuk. She took only 63 minutes to wrap the match, prompting a light-hearted question from Jelena Dokic in the on-court interview.
The player-turned-commentator asked Gauff whether she was in a rush to be somewhere after the match. The 2023 US Open champion joked that she had plans to go to the cinemas to watch The Iron Claw. The hilarious clip went viral on the internet and Efron, one of the leads in the movie, shared it on his Instagram account. He praised Gauff and said he was rooting for her at the Australian Open.
“You’re the best @cocogauff, rooting for you!”
Efron used a heart emoji and Gauff replied with the same while reposting the story on her account.
The Iron Claw stars Efron as Kevin Von Erich, one of the Von Erich brothers who took professional wrestling by storm in the 1980s. The sports biopic is earning rave reviews and garnering hype on social media. Gauff understandably also wanted to join the hype train and watch the movie. However, she clarified immediately that she was joking about her plans.
Coco Gauff 2024 Australian Open campaign so far
After an incredible breakthrough in 2023, Coco Gauff carried her momentum into 2024. She cemented her status as one of the favourites for the Australian Open by defending her ASB Classic title in Auckland. After her maiden Grand Slam triumph last year, she is tipped to follow it up with a second soon. After many top seeds met with early exits, the American is the second-highest-ranked player in a much-weakened field. She will fancy her chances of getting her hands on the trophy.
Gauff’s campaign began with a dominant victory against Anna Karolína Schmiedlová. She beat compatriots Caroline Dolehide and Alycia Parks in the second and third rounds, respectively. After thrashing Magdalena Frech in the fourth round, she progressed to her first quarter-final in the Grand Slam Down Under. She has been in imperious form, not having dropped a set so far. She has inflicted a couple of bagels and a breadstick upon her opponents.
At the time of writing, Gauff was playing Marta Kostyuk in the quarter-final clash. This could prove to be her toughest test so far. After trailing 1-5 in the first set much to the surprise of many, Gauff bounced back to level 6-6 going into a 7-point tiebreaker. If she sees the Ukrainian off, she will meet a Grand Slam champion in the semifinals for sure. She will face either defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka or Barbora Krejcikova in what will surely be a blockbuster encounter.
