Wimbledon Open: 15-Year-Old Gauff, Who Beat Venus, Shocks Another  Top Star, Rybarikova

 

Cori “Coco” Gauff’s first-ever Grand Slam tournament is going better than she could have ever imagined. Just two days after beating her idol Venus Williams in the first round at Wimbledon, the 15-year-old defeated Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3, 6-3 in one hour nine minutes to advance to the third round.

Avoiding the let-down that so often afflicts giantkillers, she defeated Rybarikova, a semi-finalist at the Wimbledon Open two years ago. Upsetting Venus might have been a surprise but this was seriously impressive.

Gauff stayed intense and focused throughout, letting her powerful serve carry her and set the tone for the match. Rybarikova never seemed to find her groove, while Gauff looked comfortable from the start. Gauff’s aggression cost her a few times — she fought for balls she had no realistic chance of getting — but it let Rybarikova know that she would fight for every single point.

Rybarikova found some life in the second set, coming back from 40-15 to win the fourth game and then challenged Gauff to win the fifth game. But Gauff kept fighting for every point, making returns at every chance and preventing Rybarikova from ever getting comfortable. She looked just as good at the end of the match as she did at the start, and played even better tennis than she did against Venus Williams in the first round.

Gauff, who has stayed cool under intense Wimbledon pressure both on and off the court, had a moment earlier in the day that most 15-year-old tennis players can only dream of. Roger Federer recognized her while he was walking by and introduced himself, and wished her luck in her match.

She even stayed cool when Federer shook her hand, but she broke into a huge smile and asked, “You got that on camera?” after he walked away.

After two straight victories at her very first Wimbledon, she should expect more moments like that. She’ll have plenty of chances between now and Friday, when she’ll face Polona Hercog from Slovenia in the third round.

“I’m still shocked I am even here,” Gauff told BBC TV.

“I played well on pressure points. She was serving amazing. I’ve not been able to relax, there is so much going on.

“I believe I can beat anyone across the court.”

She becomes the youngest player to reach the last 32 at Wimbledon since fellow American Jennifer Capriati, who reached the semi-finals in 1991, also aged 15.

Speaking after the match Gauff revealed that she has been using social media to help relax between matches and cope with her newfound fame.

“I wasn’t expecting any of this. A lot of celebrities were messaging, posting me. I’m kind of star struck. It’s been hard to reset. I don’t know,” she said.

“Surprisingly social media kind of relaxes me before the match. That’s what I kind of do. Right now I’m going to keep everything the same because it’s been working.”