Cori Gauff admitted she started feeling a bit nervous when she spotted Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler in the stands for her Miami Open second-round match against Rebecca Marino. Gauff, seeded at No 6, had a first-round bye in Miami before she beat Marino 6-4 6-3.
Butler, who is one of the biggest competitors in the NBA and well-known for his strong personality, followed Gauff’s match at Stadium Court. “Jimmy Butler is here, so I was a little bit nervous when I saw him. I’ve watched games here all throughout my life.
Well, when I saw Jimmy Butler, I mean, he was right next to my towels, I had no choice but to see him. It was really cool because I love watching the Heat, they’re my team. He has just, like, that mentality, that dog in him, something that I really admire a lot,” Gauff said after the match.
Gauff loves Florida
When Gauff was 7, her family moved to Florida. Since then, Florida has been Gauff’s home and she always loves returning to the Miami Open. “I love it so much because you feel really relaxed here, specially having my brothers here.
My brothers are playing spike ball and soccer. We even got lucky, they gave us a suite here so we took the Xbox up to the suite. So I’m really just treating the stadium like my house to be honest. I took a nap before my match. I mean if they let me I would just sleep here.
I love this site so much. I only went to Crandon as a fan, never as a player, but I gotta say it doesnt get any better than here at Hard Rock Stadium,” Gauff explained. Last year, Gauff achieved her best Miami result when she reached the round-of-16 before losing to Iga Swiatek. It remains to be seen if this year Gauff can achieve her new best Miami result.
