Leylah Fernandez reveals how her father used Coco Gauff's coach's famous mantra for her opening match in Cincinnati

Even an ugly win is still a win, right? Leylah Fernandez recently won three sets to beat Chinese player Yue Yuan in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters. If we look at her performance in that match, it wasn't as impressive as one would expect from a former US Open finalist. She clearly struggled a little with her serves in that match, but she still somehow managed to sway the outcome in her favor. Shortly after claiming a hard-fought victory, Fernandez revealed how her father used Coco Gauff's coach mantra to motivate her before the match.

Her father, Jorge Fernandez, has played an important role in her career. Although he had never played tennis in his career and was more involved in soccer, she took on the role of her daughter's coach. Leylah has struggled a little to find consistency this season. Although she has had good results in some of her matches this season, she has not been able to deliver the kind of tennis she would have liked. Considering all these factors before the Cincinnati Masters, her father told her that it is not so important how she wins the matches, as long as she wins them.

In a post-match interview on Tennis Channel, Fernandez made a similar statement, revealing: “It wasn't the best tennis at all. But it was funny because we had this conversation this morning. My coach and I were talking and he said, “Look, today you're not going to play your best. It's not going to be great, but be mentally strong. Win ugly!” So that was the phrase we used all morning.“Fernandez was one set down, but luckily for her fans, she managed to come back in the next two sets against Yuan.

We all know that Gauff and Fernandez are good friends. Did you know that Gauff's coach Brad Gilbert wrote a book called “Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis – Lessons from a Master”? But what does “Winning Ugly” mean in the words of this renowned coach?

Coco Gauff's trainer reveals the exact meaning of “Winning Ugly”

A win is a win, we all know that, right? According to Gilbert, “Winning Ugly” means: “Put simply, the ugly win is about figuring out how to win. With lots of tennis lessons, you learn to hit the ball a little better. But it's not about competition.“Even during Gauff's matches, we saw fans using this term very often. Both Gauff and Fernandez have enormous potential to become two of the best women's tennis players. So the only advice from the coaches is also quite similar: nothing matters as long as you win the matches!”

Speaking of resemblance, here's a funny incident that popped into my head out of the blue. Did you know that Gauff was once hilariously mistaken for Fernandez in Montreal? It happened last year, and the fan had even asked her for an autograph because he thought she was Fernandez. But coming back to “Winning Ugly,” has Gauff read her coach's book yet? Well, in a previous interview, she revealed: “I bought a copy but didn't read it. Maybe I should add it to my reading list.“She said her mother bought it for her and told her she had to read it. However, according to Gauff, she believes she has to read the “real version“So she doesn’t need a book!”