NEW YORK -- Coco Gauff spent much of her four-year pro career on the Hologic WTA Tour trying to block out the noise. But, as she explains on the WTA Insider Podcast, the key to her US Open victory was letting it all in. 

Listen to the full interview below:

Read excerpts from the interview below:

WTA Insider: There were so many celebrities in attendance for your matches all tournament. During the final, were there any that specifically caught your eye?

Gauff: I saw Quinta Brunson, Madelyn Cline, Lil Uzi Vert, Laverne Cox, Kevin Durant. I saw pretty much every name on that screen. I told myself, I've been looking at the screen all tournament, so I wasn't going to stop now.

When I practice, we're making jokes and speaking about stuff off the court. In doubles, Jess and I always talk about how we don't talk about the on-court stuff. I was trying to bring that more into my singles. 

You have to be focused but not trying to be zoned. I felt like that gave me a little break. Looking at the stars that were there or paying attention to what songs they were playing on the changeover gave my mind a little break from the pressure that was building around me on the court, and I think that helped. 

I played my best tennis when I was relaxed, and honestly, I didn't feel nervous really the whole match. You feel that in your throat when you're nervous and I didn't feel it at all today, even down the set or on the match points. I felt it a little bit before the match, but when I walked on the court, I felt fine. 

WTA Insider: You said in your press conference that during the French Open trophy ceremony last year you kept your eyes trained on Iga. What did you see and what did you take from that?

Gauff: It was just, like, cool. The way she lifted the trophy and the whole stadium was clapping. I wanted that moment for myself. I told myself, literally when it was happening, just take it all in. You feel disappointed and sad now, but that's something that you can chase. 

I didn't know if it would happen then at that point, obviously. But that feeling is something that I wanted to chase because she looked really happy, as she should in that moment. So I was like, I want to chase that feeling. And I found it. 

WTA Insider: Let's talk about the detractors. You said you were reading comments 10 minutes before the final. When did you turn the corner from avoiding and ignoring the negativity on social media to letting it fuel you?

Gauff: I think after D.C. when I won. Because before, I would just mute all the words and not go on my account, delete the account, and all these types of things. 

I realized that my personality is not like that. My parents, they know I'm stubborn and I like to prove people wrong. So the more I read it, the more it made me want to prove them wrong. 

In D.C., I saw a tweet, "She's only 250 Coco." I won that WTA 500 tournament in D.C. Then people were like, that's going to be it, it was a flop win. Then I won the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati and people were saying I only won that because certain players weren't rested and weren't physically well and that would never translate into a Slam. Before my match tonight, people were like she's going to crush her. She's going to take her to school and diminish the hype. They said I'm only hype. 

There is something very satisfying about shushing your haters. I'm really curious to go on and see what else they're going to say now.

WTA Insider: Last question -- If you could pick five songs that encapsulate your two weeks in New York, what would they be?

Gauff: I walked on the court to "Icon" by Jaden Smith every match. So that has to be on the playlist. 

Megan Thee Stallion's "She," they've been playing that all week as my introduction. I like the song.

Third, probably just like the ocean waves, because I feel like you need a little bit of silence in these two weeks in this busy city. So just a little bit of ASMR music or something. 

And then the fourth song, I guess I have to go with "Empire State of Mind." That's a New York Classic. The dreams came true here. I thought I wanted them to come true in Paris, but I would not pick a better moment for that to happen in this city. 

And then the fifth one. "Awesome," it's a gospel song. I've just listened to that when I needed a moment to chill and remember that there are much bigger things going on in the universe than just tennis.