Coco Gauff thanks Alex Eala for drawing new tennis fans

Coco Gauff walked onto Center Court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium to a packed crowd, with many fans cheering for her opponent, Alex Eala.

Chants of “Let’s go, Alex!” echoed throughout the venue, prompting the umpire to occasionally remind spectators not to cheer during rallies.

For Gauff, however, the atmosphere was a welcome sight for both the tournament and the sport.

“I know you're mostly supporting Alex, but I have to say It is great to be on a crowded court. I played this tournament for many years and to see the stadium full means a lot,” Gauff said after her 6-0, 6-2 victory over Eala in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Gauff also thanked Eala for drawing new fans to tennis.

“Also, I like to thank Alex for bringing a new demographic to the sport. I really appreciate it. I think it's great,” she said.

“I know sometimes it's tough when you're playing against a ‘home crowd’,” Gauff added, gesturing air quotes, “But I think that it's it's great for the sport so keep being enthusiastic and keep rooting for your player.”

The American said she also adjusted her mindset to handle the nearly one-sided crowd support.

“Honestly, I had a similar match at French Open last year so I brought that mindset today of just trying to… whenever you guys were cheering for Alex, I was pretending that it was my name and I think that I think that it helped me a lot,” she said.

“If you can't beat them, you got to join them.”

Previously, Novak Djokovic also spoke about the strong support Eala received during the Australian Open.

"There's some players coming from respective countries, like she's (Eala) coming from Philippines, which is now a big deal. She's been the biggest ever tennis player from that country, which is a big country and there's a big interest,” Djokovic previously said.

“Let's just imagine if there's a lack of people coming or that stands are empty. That's a bigger problem. I mean, this is great,” Djokovic added.

Gauff will now await the winner of the match between Antonia Ruzic and Elina Svitolina to determine her semifinal opponent.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News