Marion Bartoli has shared her delight at seeing Coco Gauff reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon, having spoken to the American just before the tournament started.
Gauff had previously struggled at the grass-court Grand Slam, but has now made it to the final four for the very first time in her career.
The seventh seed takes on 10th seed Karolina Muchova, with the winner set to play either Marta Kostyuk or Linda Noskova in the final.
Ahead of those semi-finals in London, former Wimbledon champion Bartoli has now revealed her pre-tournament message to WTA superstar Gauff.
What does Coco Gauff need to improve to become a major champion once again?
Marion Bartoli reveals grass court advice to Coco Gauff before Wimbledon
Speaking on 6-Love-6 on BBC Radio 5 Live, Bartoli said: “I like Coco, honestly.
“I think she just finds ways to win somehow.
“She is an incredible fighter on the court, she moves incredibly well.
“I told her at the beginning of the tournament when she was having a bit of a love/hate relationship with the grass that she burst on to the scene here as a 15-year-old beating Venus [Williams].
“You can play on this surface.
“Grass is movement, legs and power and you can do it.
“I’m so glad to see her into the semi-final, she got out of jail twice, especially the one against Jessie Pegula.
“She always finds a way.”
Making her Wimbledon and indeed Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon in 2019, Gauff reached the main draw as a qualifier.
And the 15-year-old then produced a stunning run to reach the fourth round, having beaten legendary figure Williams in her opening match.
Despite that sensational venture, which was ended only by eventual champion Simona Halep, Gauff consistently failed to make it beyond round four at Wimbledon, until now.
| Year | Round | Opponent |
| 2026 | Semi-final* | K. Muchova |
| 2025 | Round of 128 | D. Yastremska |
| 2024 | Round of 16 | E. Navarro |
| 2023 | Round of 128 | S. Kenin |
| 2022 | Round of 32 | A. Anisimova |
| 2021 | Round of 16 | A. Kerber |
| 2019 | Round of 16 | S. Halep |
John McEnroe backs Jannik Sinner to win Wimbledon
Bartoli’s fellow pundit John McEnroe, who won Wimbledon three times, has also shared his opinion at this stage of the tournament.
Predicting his men’s singles champion, he said: “I’ll pick [Jannik] Sinner. I thought [Taylor] Fritz had a shout but he hurt his knee and [Alexander] Zverev destroyed him.
“If you go by likelihood I would pick Sinner one, [Novak] Djokovic two, Zverev three and Arthur as four. Coming out of nowhere.
What would be the biggest upset?
Arthur Fery winning Wimbledon or Emma Raducanu's 2021 US Open win
“In the women, Coco plays probably my favourite player to watch in Muchova. I love the way she plays but that does not mean that she’s going to beat Coco.
“Then you have Kostyuk and Noskova and I like both of those two. It’s pretty interesting that for the 10th year in a row there is going to be a new Wimbledon champion.”
The women’s semi-finals are up first at the All England Club, followed by Sinner versus Djokovic and Zverev versus Arthur Fery.
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