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"I got a marriage proposal yesterday so I'm
feeling the love here in Cancun," Gauff said with a laugh after
the match, thanking the crowd who showed up despite the weather.
"I honestly wasn't expecting as much support today ... I
appreciate you guys and hopefully we can get a lot more people
to come as the week continues."
The 19 year old's first victory in WTA finals came after a
winless campaign last year and it made her the first American
teenager to win a match at the WTA Finals since Venus Williams
in 1999.
In September, Gauff became the first teenager to win the US Open
since Serena Williams in 1999.
"Zendaya sent me flowers to my house," Gauff told Tennis Channel
after Monday's win, referring to the actress as she spoke about
life after winning the grand slam.
"It was like a huge bouquet of flowers. My brother and I
struggled to lift it up on the table. I think it weighed at
least 50 pounds. It was so heavy. I think that was the coolest
thing."
Gauff revealed that her focus through the match was to not let
the rain interruption derail her.
"Sometimes you win a couple games and the rain delay happens and
the match can completely turn around," she said. "But I was able
to stay steady the whole time."
Gauff, who qualified for the WTA Finals as the third seed, will
face second seed Iga Swiatek in her next Group B outing on
Wednesday. Swiatek started her campaign earlier on Monday with a
7-6(7-3) 6-0 win over Marketa Vondrousova.
Swiatek, a Polish former world number one, beat Gauff by
straight sets in last year's WTA Finals, and won three of their
four subsequent matches.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; editing by Robert
Birsel)
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