Jessica Pegula surprised by huge Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff US Open blunder
Novak Djokovic says he will 'keep going' after US Open win
Jessica Pegula was thrilled to see Coco Gauff win her first Grand Slam title in New York, but was non-plussed to learn that a radio commentator couldn’t even pronounce the 19-year-old’s name correctly. Gauff became the first teenager to win the US Open since Serena Williams triumphed as a 17-year-old in 1999.
The Florida-born star, who has now moved up to third in the world rankings, came from behind to defeat new world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in front of a delighted Arthur Ashe Stadium.
A day later in the men’s final, Novak Djokovic showed why class is permanent by out-classing Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 to clinch the fourth US Open title of the Serbian’s career. And in doing so, he set a new record for the most Grand Slams won in the Open era with 24 major titles to his name – one more than Serena Williams managed during her career.
Djokovic’s remarkable slam tally is a well-known statistic in the sport, but that didn’t stop one radio reporter from boosting his total somewhat on air. Tennis journalist Blar Henley explained on social media how she had heard a broadcaster state that Djokovic had won his “34th” Grand Slam title, gifting him an extra 10.
The announcer also referred to Coco Gauff as “Graph” while reporting on her maiden Slam triumph.
Henley wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “On the radio on the way to the airport: ‘Novak Djokovic wins his THIRTY-FOURTH Grand Slam! And he’s 36. That’s old! And Coco GRAPH takes home her first Grand Slam title at just 19.’ Big Djovak Nokovic vibes.”
Henley’s Djovak Nokovic pun refers to a separate occurrence when a Major League Baseball commentator managed to jumble up Djokovic’s name live on air while reporting on his defeat to Stan Wawrinka in the 2016 US Open final. She also shared a video of the gaff as part of her post.
It was soon picked up on by Gauff’s now-regular doubles partner Pegula, who has now been replaced as world No 3 by her team-mate. Pegula retweeted the post and wrote “What” along with an emoji of a monkey covering its eyes.
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Despite the blunder, Gauff is unlikely to lose much sleep over the incident after becoming America’s No 1 ranked tennis player.
Pegula and Gauff are also currently the top-ranked doubles players in the world, both on 6,035 points. But their hopes of landing a third doubles title together this season were ended at Flushing Meadows in the quarter-finals by Su-Wei Hsieh and Xinyu Wang.
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