Australian Open 2020: All you need to know about 15-year-old American sensation Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff made history last year when she became the youngest female tennis player to play in a major Grand Slam (i.e Wimbledon). She also made headlines in that very tournament when she beat the seven-time Grand Slam champion, Venus Williams in the opening round. She once again continued her Grand Slam domination over the veteran after knocking her out in the first round of the Australian Open 2020 on Monday, showing that her earlier win was no fluke.

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Australian Open 2020: Interesting facts about Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff was born in Atlanta, USA and is the youngest ever finalist to have made the girls' singles event at the US Open and is the youngest ever player in the history of the Wimbledon Championships. Gauff started playing at age of 7, after being inspired by her hero Serena Williams. At just 13, she made it to the girls’ final of the 2017 United States Open. Then in 2018, she won the girls’ final of the French Open, rounding out the year with her win at the Orange Bowl tournament. Gauff is still in high school and took a science test the day before the finals of the qualifying tournament for Wimbledon.

At the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, she defeated Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4, which was seen as the biggest upset of the tournament in the opening round. After the loss, Venus Williams had said that Coco Gauff played well and she actually didn't. During the tournament, Gauff became the 12th youngest player to play the Grand Slam. Back in 2009, then 15-year-old British player Laura Robson competed through a Wimbledon wild card. 

Coco Gauff comes from a sporting background with her father, Corey, playing basketball at Georgia State. He is also her primary coach. Her mother Candi was a heptathlete and hurdler at Florida State.

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Australian Open 2020: Coco Gauff vs Venus Williams highlights

The match, which can be termed as the 'youngest vs oldest' battle, saw Gauff taking control of the first set and establishing 3 set points at 5-3 and 5-4 before being forced into a tie-break. She won the tie-breaker after Williams hit an overhead shot into the net. In the second set, Gauff raced to a 3-0 lead and went on to serve out the match after Williams rushed to retrieve a shot at the net but could only get to it with a double bounce. She won the match 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. Speaking about her win, Gauff said that Venus Williams played really well and she was nervous ahead of Monday's match. She further added that she was a bit shocked when she saw the draw but was glad to get through it.

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