This time, Gauff beats foe only twice her age
WIMBLEDON, England — On the same court where she made her victorious Wimbledon debut against Venus Williams, 15-yearold American Cori Gauff solved an entirely different tennis problem to reach the third round.
She was powerful beyond her years in a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Magdalena Rybarikova on Wednesday evening under a closed roof on the No. 1 Court.
But Gauff, the youngest woman to qualify for Wimbledon in the Open era, also was resourceful and composed beyond her years.
“You can kind of fake it until you make it, but I’m not faking it,” Gauff said, “at least right now.”
Rybarikova, a 30-year-old Slovakian, has had a rough season. But she is particularly dangerous on grass. She was a surprise Wimbledon semifinalist in 2017 and has an uncommon ability to change speeds, spins and tactics. At 5-11, she can also rip big serves.
Gauff handled the moment with aplomb, just as she handled the 39-year-old Williams, a fivetime Wimbledon singles champion, in a 6-4, 6-4 victory Monday.
“That was impressive to come back from a win against Venus, where the expectations were so high, and to follow up with such a solid performance against a woman who got to the semis here two years ago,” said Martin Blackman, the general manager of player development for the USTA.
Although Gauff projected calm on the court, she said the reaction to her victory over Williams had made it hard to remain focused between rounds.
“I could lie and say I felt normal,” she said. “It was honestly so hard, just with social media and everything, trying to focus on my next match because people are still posting about Venus. I just tried my best to reset.”
Gauff added: “I wasn’t expecting any of this. A lot of celebrities were DM’ing me, posting me. I’m kind of star struck.”
She said she had committed to reveling in the victory over Williams until midnight Monday and then emphasizing that “it’s a new day tomorrow.”
At the French Open, Gauff lost in qualifying, at times struggling to remain calm and focused. But she has had no such problems at Wimbledon.
“I think it wasn’t so much that my tennis improved; it was more my mindset,” Gauff said. “Because my mindset improved, my tennis definitely changed. I don’t think it was so much how many balls I hit in practice. It was more off court, thinking how can I improve myself and improve the way I act on the court. It’s definitely been a challenge.”
Blackman and others have been struck by how much more composed Gauff has been than even in Paris a few weeks ago.
“But I think part of it too is that she hasn’t skipped any levels,” Blackman said. “She played the juniors. She played some of the smaller pro circuit events, some of the bigger events, and she’s done well at every single level. That’s part of it and a credit to her parents for having a long-term perspective on her development. It’s really important.”
Williams is a consistently big hitter and server who provided Gauff with consistent pace. Rybarikova gave the teenager all kinds of looks, often forcing her to bend low and generate her own power.
Gauff, who is based in Delray Beach, Fla., passed this test, too. She won the majority of the fasttwitch rallies, slamming big serves and ripping backhand winners. But perhaps more impressively, she also won the craftier rallies, prevailing in backhandslice duels and smartly changing the pace and avoiding the temptation to over-hit when Rybarikova moved her around the grass.
Gauff made 18 winners and only 10 unforced errors against Rybarikova. Against Williams, she made 18 winners and eight unforced errors. Those are impressive ratios for a player of any age.
She started and closed out the 1-hour, 9-minute victory over Rybarikova looking as if she were entirely in her element.
“I think I can beat anyone who’s across the court,” Gauff said as she came off the court where she is now 2-0.
Next challenge for the prodigy: a third-round duel with Polona Hercog, an unseeded Slovenian, who defeated No. 17 seed Madison Keys of the United States, 6-2, 6-4.