Rising star Coco Gauff has what it takes to go all the way at Wimbledon this year, according to a former great of American tennis.
Two-time US Open champion Tracey Austin has backed the youngster to reach the later stages of the tournament in what will only be her second main draw appearance. Gauff made her Wimbledon debut back in 2019 when she stunned the draw by reaching the fourth round as a 15-year-old qualifier. She is the youngest player to have ever reached the main draw by coming through qualifying in the Open Era.
Since that breakthrough two years ago, the American has surged up the rankings to a career high of 23rd in the world and has already won two WTA titles. Gauff also recently reached the quarter-finals of the French Open before losing to Barbora Krejčíková who went on to win the title.
“She will go deep at Wimbledon. She will be a sensation again,” Austin said of Gauff’s Wimbledon chances.
“Two years on (from 2019) her forehand has improved, her second serve has improved and she is so much stronger. (She has a) wealth of experience and has now won titles. She is going to go back there as a seeded player and she is going to go deep.”
Continuing her praise of Gauff, Austin drew parallels between the youngster and another great of the game when it comes to the use of her second serve.
“Venus (Williams) had that same slice second serve and Venus has won Wimbledon five times because the grass accentuates the grass and helps you,” she said.
Gauff is back in action this week at the Eastbourne Open where she will be unseeded in the draw. It will be her first Tour event on the surface for almost two years after the 2020 grasscourt swing was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whilst there are high expectations for the youngster to impress, Gauff insists that she is not feeling any pressure ahead of Wimbledon.
“People might expect me to feel pressure going into it, but I don’t really feel any pressure going into it. I’m just going to have fun and enjoy it. I don’t really want to push myself to compare my result this year with last time,” she told reporters on Sunday.
“I want to do better than when I first went there but it was the start of everything. I’m thankful for that experience and it definitely helped me as a player and a person.
“I guess I haven’t actually had any flashbacks regarding Wimbledon yet, so maybe that will happen when I get on the grounds.”
So far this season the 17-year-old has achieved a win-loss record of 29-10 prior to the start of Eastbourne with five of those victories being over top 20 players. She won her first clay title at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma and reached the semi-finals of the Italian Open. Amid her success, the teenager says Wimbledon has a special place in her heart.
“Wimbledon is definitely the most prestigious out of the grand slams, they have all the rules about wearing the white and only certain people can play on the Centre Court unless you are playing a match there,” she said.
“I thought it was so cool maybe to think about playing an exclusive tournament and the fact that I got to do that so young was really cool.
“And, also play on the two biggest courts of the tournament, which many people have yet to play on, that is something I take pride in.”
In Eastbourne Gauff will play seventh seed Elise Mertens in the first round.
