Gavrilova awaits great
In-form Aussie ace prepares to lift another gear against star Williams
DARIA Gavrilova almost broke down in tears when, a month shy of turning 19, she watched American megastar Serena Williams walk on court to play her for the first time.
They’ve met twice more since — all straight-sets Williams victories — and there will be a fourth edition on Tuesday, after Australia’s Gavrilova blitzed Viktoria Kuzmova 6-2 6-0 in barely an hour.
The result was an emphatic reminder that the 26-year-old, once a member of the top 20, is on the way back after a horror, multi-year run with various foot-related injuries.
Gavrilova continues to manage an Achilles tendinitis problem on her right foot — something she concedes is “never going away” – as well as plantar fasciitis and a toe issue on her left foot.
Her ranking subsequently went into free fall and was as low as No.788, but this win will propel her inside the top 400 and she’s already scored an Australian Open wildcard.
Up next is Williams, the player Gavrilova grew up idolising. Despite boasting victories over the likes of Maria Sharapova, Naomi Osaka and
Angie Kerber, she said facing the former world No.1 was another challenge altogether.
It wasn’t until Gavrilova’s post-match interview that she discovered her opponent, after her husband and fellow player Luke Saville purposely kept it from her.
“I asked, ‘Is it exciting?’. I thought it could be an Ash, a Halep or Serena, and then he waslike, ‘Nah, not really’, because he didn’t want to tell me,” Gavrilova said with a laugh. “(I knew it was) either a really good draw, someone like a lucky loser, or someone super exciting.
“I’ve played her three times – once when I was very young, and they called me on court first and I was fine, but then they called Serena and the crowd went crazy and I almost frickin’ cried.”
Gavrilova has suffered through painkilling injections, extended stints out and had her confidence rocked, but her ability to complete a quality training block has her primed.
She still rates her speed as “top five” on the WTA Tour, but said it was too difficult to compare her form to her peak years in 2016 and 2017, when she twice made the last 16 at the Australian Open.