Coco Gauff is the next Serena Williams who beat her sister Venus as a teenager, but the secret to her US Open success lies with the Jolly Ranchers.

American teenager Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff lives up to her status as the next Serena Williams after reaching the semi-finals of the US Open.

The 19-year-old won 6-0 6-2 in just over an hour against 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko to seal her place in the last four for the first time.

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Gauff is now just two wins away from following in her idol Williams’ footsteps by tasting US Open success as a teenager.

And it could prove just as special for her father Corey, who revealed it was 23rd Grand Slam champion Williams who inspired his daughter to become one of the tennis stars of the future.

Speaking to The Sun, he explained: “I think it was the Australian Open that we watched on TV when she was four or five.

“She saw me jumping to celebrate Serena’s win and she was like, ‘Daddy, do you like it? I want to do the same’.”

Although Serena may be the player Gauff is most often linked with, it was her older sister Venus who played the most important role in her career.

Gauff’s journey to the top of her sport began at age seven when she moved from Georgia to Florida to pursue her tennis dream.

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A year later, she won her first international tournament and became the youngest girl to compete in a US Open Girls final at age 13.

Her mainstream breakthrough came just two years later when she entered Wimbledon as a wild card at No. 272.

Gauff had to pass three qualifying rounds to reach the main draw while juggling a science test the day before her matches.

“I ended up getting a B on the exam, which was pretty good considering I sat it at 11 p.m. and had to wake up the next day for a game,” Gauff told CNN.

“After my science exam, I guess some of my teachers saw the interview,” she added. “Before that… only one teacher knew I played tennis, and I don’t think he knew I was a pro. And now all but one know I’m playing and they’re all cheering me on.

Gauff then stunned the world by beating former champion Venus Williams 6-4 6-4 in her Grand Slam singles debut in the first round.

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Despite the triumph, Gauff is still awaiting her first Grand Slam four years later after admitting the hype around her has taken its toll.

“Throughout my life I’ve always been the youngest doing things which added hype that I didn’t want,” Gauff wrote in an article for Behind The Racquet in 2020.

“It added that pressure that I needed to do well fast. Once I let it all down, that’s when I started getting the results I wanted.

“Just before Wimbledon, around 2017/18, I was struggling to understand if this was really what I wanted.

“I’ve always had results, so that wasn’t the problem, I just found myself not enjoying what I liked.

“I realized that I had to start playing for myself and not for others. For about a year, I was really depressed. It was the hardest year for me so far.

“Even if that was the case, I felt like there weren’t many friends for me.

“When you’re in that dark frame of mind, you don’t look on the bright side too often, which is the hardest part.

“I don’t think it has much to do with tennis, maybe just juggling it all. I knew I wanted to play tennis but I didn’t know how I wanted to go about it.

“It got so far that I was thinking of possibly taking a year off to just focus on life.

“Choosing not to was obviously the right choice, but I was close to not going in that direction.”

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Gauff has since refocused and had the best time of her career after adding former Andy Murray coach Brad Gilbert to her side.

The world number 6 racked up titles in Cincinnati and Washington and is now ready for a historic tournament in her home Grand Slam.

Of her partnership with the 62-year-old, she revealed, “I was scared to be with the older person, to be honest, before I met Brad.

“He’s older but he still has the mind of a 20-year-old, maybe even younger, a 10-year-old sometimes. The guy offered me Jolly Ranchers. I don’t know if you knew that.

“My favorite Brad story is that he played almost every game with a Jolly Rancher in his mouth.

“He gives me Jolly Ranchers all the time. I take them but I don’t eat them. At this point, I can’t have Jolly Ranchers every five minutes. So that’s my favorite Brad story.

Whatever the secret to her new form, if Gauff becomes just the second American not called Williams to win the US Open in two decades, you can be sure she’ll be a bit more than happy…