WIMBLEDON: Few expected that Cory Gauff could exceed the performance of what she produced during the first round of the Wimbledon Championships against Venus Williams. Then her third round match took place on Friday.
Despite being born in 2004, the American illustrated why she is tipped to become the new star of women’s tennis at the age of 15. Taking on Polona Hercog, who was contesting her 36th Grand Slam main draw, Gauff produced a display that exceeded her age. Both mentally and physically.
A three-set thriller saw the qualifier fight back from the brink of defeat. Down 3-6, 2-5, she staged an audacious comeback to prevail after two hours and 45 minutes of play. Saving a duo of match points in the second set, Gauff roared to a 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-5, win on Centre Court. Electrifying the British crowd who have seemingly adopted her as one of their own.
“I was just thinking I need to go for my shots. I can’t play pushing. Really, to be honest, I kind of just went out there and just hoped the ball went in the court.” Gauff reflected during her press conference.
To put into perspective Gauff’s achievement of reaching the fourth round at The All England Club. The last person who was younger than her to reach the last 16 of the tournament was Jenifer Capriati back in 1991.
Youngest players to make Wimbledon fourth round:
Jennifer Capriati 🇺🇸 in 1990 aged 14 years & 92 days
Steffi Graf 🇩🇪 in 1984 aged 15y & 16d
Andrea Jaeger 🇺🇸 in 1980 aged 15y & 24d
Jennifer Capriati 🇺🇸 in 1991 aged 15y & 91d
COCO GAUFF 🇺🇸 IN 2019 AGED 15Y AND 114D
— Will Jeanes (@will_jeanes) July 5, 2019
The most impressive thing about the latest performance was Gauff’s belief that she had what it took to turn her fortunes around. When asked if her confidence has increased during Wimbledon, she replied ‘my confidence has been the same the whole tournament.’ Showing little signs of being star struck by her rapid rise on the tour.
“When I was walking on the court, I kind of wasn’t nervous, but I was just like, Wow, I’m really on Centre Court. One of the most sacred courts in the world.” She said.
“When I was down 5-2, I was just like, I can fight back. Just need to hold serve, break, then we’ll see what happens from there.:
It is easy to forget how young Gauff actually is until you speak with her. A typical teenager with a bubbly personality, she started her Friday duty with the press by saying ‘please stream Erys by Jaden Smith.’ A huge fan of Smith, she later talked about being banned from buying hoodies for two months by her parents because she had too many, and the fact she is too young to buy a car with her Wimbledon prize money. Which currently tallies to more than $200,000.
There is a fear that it could be too much too young. Something that has previously happened to other rising stars of the past. Hence the use of the WTA Age Eligibility Rule, which limits Gauff to how many tournaments she can plan in. Something Roger Federer believes need changing in the future.
“I feel like you kind of have to experience the down moments to be able to experience the high. But I don’t think this is just a one-time thing. I won three matches now, so I think I kind of proved my own.”
The next challenger for the youngster will be seventh seed Simona Halep, who didn’t win her first main draw match on the WTA Tour until the age of 18. On paper, Gauff is the massive underdog, but few are ruling her out of causing another shock in the women’s draw.
“I watch her a lot obviously. I’ve never hit with her or anything or practiced with her. I don’t know how the ball would feel when I actually play, but I’m really familiar with how she plays just from watching her a lot.” She said.
Guaff has already shown she has what it takes to compete alongside the women’s elite. With a lot of loose and nothing to gain, it can be argued that Halep should be the more nervous of the two heading into their Monday clash.
This is one teenager who means serious business.
