Gauff was at her best level when she arrived in New York last year and delivered on years of enormous expectations when she beat Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set thriller final to claim the trophy.

It is a different story this time around, after early exits in Toronto and Cincinnati, with her lone title of the year in Auckland in January.

But the 20-year-old said she had a positive attitude for the year's final major.

"Somebody commented on my TikTok," said Gauff, "It said, you've won literally and figuratively. Why stress yourself out over a victory lap?

"I was, like, that's actually a good perspective. No one can take that from me so why stress myself over something that I already have."

Gauff's US Open breakthrough came with a small sense of relief after she was catapulted into the spotlight at just 15 when she became the youngest ever to qualify for Wimbledon in 2019.

"Some people thought I was going to win (a major) at 15 or 16, which was crazy, I wasn't going to do that. I think it just helped prepare me for now," said Gauff. "Now coming in, I'm going to enjoy it."

--Reuters--