PARIS — Coco Gauff has been on a journey of self-discovery in Paris. She's figuring out what she calls her «transition into adulthood,» in a city she calls her second home.
She's trying to find the form that guided her to the final here last year. And she's trying to solve her forehand. It's a lot to take in, alongside the unsociable hours required to keep tabs on her beloved Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
But for whatever reason, Paris seems to act as a healing balm for Gauff. Her story comes full circle as she prepares to face Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals, the artist of her downfall in last year's final.
She finds the beneficial effects of Paris hard to pin down on one factor. She loves the city's architecture, history, food and joie de vivre, and it has a calming effect on her. «I just like walking around here,» Gauff, 19, said. «I mind my business.