Madison Keys Confronts the “Shockingly Obvious” Truth About Coco Gauff Before French Open Clash

Remember that unforgettable AO final night in Melbourne? Madison Keys stunned the tennis world by clinching her maiden GS title, proudly waving the American flag on Aussie soil. Among the wave of congratulatory messages, Coco Gauff’s heartfelt “so deserveddddd!! @madisonkeys” stood out, despite her campaign ending in the quarterfinals with a straight-sets loss to Paula Badosa. Fast forward to now, and both Americans are set to collide in an electrifying French Open QF tomorrow. But beyond shared Slam success, is there a difference between them? According to Madison, there is, and it’s delightfully obvious to her. Hint? It has absolutely nothing to do with tennis.

The recent AO winner, Madison Keys, returned to the French Open quarterfinals for the 1st time since 2019 with a solid 6-3, 7-5 victory over fellow American Hailey Baptiste. A semifinalist in Paris back in 2018, Keys had not gone past the 4th round since 2019 but showed her experience and composure to close out the match despite a strong challenge from Baptiste in the second set. 

Now, Keys gears up for a high-stakes all-American clash against 2nd seed Coco Gauff, a match that promises fireworks. With a humorous observation about their differences, Keys lightheartedly eased the tension before their upcoming competition on the red dirt.

Speaking ahead of her much-anticipated French Open QF clash against Coco Gauff, Madison Keys reflected fondly on her 1st memory of meeting the young star from Florida. “I remember meeting Coco for the first time, and in my head, she was like nine years old; she probably wasn’t that young,” Madison recalled. “But she was so young and not even on the pro tour yet, and just kind of watching her play, I knew that she was going to be someone that was going to be pretty dominant.”

Keys didn’t stop there, though. She continued to praise Gauff’s maturity and grace under pressure, qualities that have defined the 21-year-old’s career so far. “Pretty quickly she just carried herself with such poise for as young as she is and even to this day, I’m always so impressed by the way that she handles the pressure and all of it at such a young age is one of the things that I think that she’s done a phenomenal job at. It’s been really fun, kind of getting to see her do so well at such a young age,” Keys added.

But the conversation quickly took a humorous turn when Keys, who is a beaten semifinalist at the Indian Wells against Aryna Sabalenka, hilariously highlighted the “age” gap between the two Americans. “Sometimes I feel very old when talking to Coco because she says things, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I don’t get that.’ So there’s definitely there’s definitely a big age gap that is sometimes shockingly obvious,” she said, drawing laughter from many who can relate. 

Gauff, born in 2004, is firmly part of Generation Z, while Keys, born in 1995, belongs to the Millennial camp, making her sentiment all the more relatable!

And while Keys is preparing for one of her toughest GS challenges yet, it’s no secret that she has one unwavering constant in her team, someone who’s earned the title of “unfireable.” That pillar of support? 

Madison Keys reveals the “Unfireable” voice behind her tennis career

Madison Keys is savoring just her 2nd two-second-week appearance at Roland Garros since 2019. The 7th seed, who had reached six GS semifinals before finally clinching her first major title earlier this year, is now set for a thrilling QF showdown against fellow American Coco Gauff. Gauff booked her spot after defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova. While the milestone is worthy of applause, Keys chose to highlight someone integral to her journey, someone from her coaching team who’s been a constant pillar of support and belief.

Speaking to the TNT crew at Roland Garros, Keys offered a heartfelt and humorous look at her dynamic with husband and coach Bjorn Fratangelo yesterday. “He’s definitely unfireable and I think he toes the line sometimes, but um there’s definitely times where he’ll say something and like I just glare at him and he just laughs because he knows,” Keys shared with a smile.

The American ace further elaborated on Bjorn’s candid nature, something she’s learned to value, especially in pressure-packed moments. “But as I’m sure you all know Bjorn quite well, he doesn’t really hold back. He kind of says what he thinks what he feels, and you kind of know what he’s thinking, kind of at all moments, doesn’t really have much of a filter. So in a lot of ways, that’s great sometimes, when you know you’re down in the third, it’s not really what you want to hear, but sometimes it’s what you need to hear,” she added.

With her beloved husband-turned-coach by her side, could Madison Keys hold the edge against the former US Open winner this time, especially with a 3-2 H2H lead in her favor?

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