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Gauff has already made the fourth rounds of the
Australian Open and the Wimbledon in her nascent career and this
week she will be seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time in
her career when the clay court major starts on Sunday.
This month the American reached her first WTA 1000 semi-final in
Rome and followed it up with her maiden title on clay the week
after in Parma.
"I feel really good about going into the French," Gauff told
reporters after her second career WTA title. "I hope I can
continue to build and keep getting better.
"I feel like I'm hitting good, moving good, my body feels good,
my mentality and emotionally I feel good. So I think it will be
a good tournament for me."
At the French Open, Gauff will be the youngest seed at a major
in 15 years since Nicole Vaidisova was seeded at the Wimbledon
Championships in 2006.
The American also won the doubles title with Caty McNally on
Parma's clay courts to become the youngest player to complete
the sweep in nearly 17 years since Maria Sharapova won both
titles in Birmingham in 2004.
"It's not a surface that people associate me with, so it feels
good," added Gauff, the 2018 junior Roland Garros winner. "I
like the dirt now. I always talk about how I don't like it, but
I like it now.
"Clay shows you a little extra love than the other surfaces do.
It's just going home, taking a shower, and I have clay coming
out of me from all different places, or clay still in my clothes
from weeks later."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Berhampore, India; editing by
Christian Schmollinger)
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