Enter Coco, exit champions
15-year-old Gauff brings down defending champion Osaka; 2018 winner Serena, 2017 winner Wozniacki lose too
MELBOURNE: Perhaps Serena Williams, now 38, will win a 24th Grand Slam title someday. And maybe Coco Gauff, still just 15, never will earn her first major championship.
Sure felt, though, as if a generational shift was being signalled on Friday at the Australian Open, with a pair of monumentally significant third-round results hours apart in the same stadium: a surprising first-week loss by Williams, then a historic victory by Gauff.
First, Williams faltered down the stretch for her earliest exit at Melbourne Park in 14 years, a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5 loss to 27th-seeded Wang Qiang of China. It pushed Williams’ gap between Slam trophies to three years.
“I’m way too old to play like this at this stage of my career,” Williams said. “Definitely going to be training tomorrow, that’s first and foremost—to make sure I don’t do this again.”
Gauff also was planning a practice session for Saturday, but hers was to prepare for a fourthround match. That’s because the 67th-ranked Gauff took the latest step in her quick progression, becoming the youngest player in the professional era to eliminate the defending women’s champion at the Australian Open, beating former No 1 Naomi Osaka 6-3, 6-4. Only once the last point had been played did the preternaturally poised Gauff turn into a rather typical teen, joking about wanting to take “a selfie for Instagram” with Rod Laver, the 11-time major champion after whom the tournament’s main stadium is named.
“Honestly, like, what is my life? Like, oh, my gosh!” Gauff told the crowd. “Two years ago, I lost first round in juniors and now I’m here. This is crazy.” It certainly is remarkable. With a booming serve, a topflight backhand and a winner’s mentality, Gauff reversed the result from the first time she was across the net from Osaka, a former No 1 who already owns two major titles at the age of 22.
When they played each other at the US Open last September, Osaka won in two quick sets and then consoled Gauff, encouraging her to speak to the spectators who were pulling for her.
One reminder of just how young Gauff is: Most of the entrants in this year’s junior Australian Open are older than she is.
Another: She is taking online classes and said she’s been given permission to turn in homework late, “considering the circumstances.” Yet another: She doesn’t have an official driver’s licence quite yet, stuck practicing behind the wheel with a learner’s permit. But put a tennis racquet in her hands and move out of the way: Gauff is now 8-2 in her nascent Grand Slam career, with three of those wins coming against women who have multiple major titles. Her next match is against No 14 Sofia Kenin, a 21-year-old American who beat Zhang Shuai of China 7-5, 7-6 (7).
SERENA BOWS OUT
Williams vs Wang was a rematch from Flushing Meadows last season—and the reverse result also happened for them. At the US Open, Williams won 6-0, 6-1 in 44 minutes. Wang credited that with prompting her to spend more time in the gym so she could add more oomph to her shots.
“I always believed I could do this one day,” Wang said with a laugh. “I didn’t know which day.”
Like Wang, Gauff was much better Friday than in New York. Gauff’s improvement revealed itself in her serving—she put 15 of her initial 16 first serves in play and her steadiness.
Gauff declared herself more calm for this matchup. “That,” she decided, “made the difference.” So did letting Osaka make the mistakes, 30 unforced errors in all, compared to 17 for Gauff.
With that, Gauff became the youngest player to beat a top-five opponent in a women’s tour-level match since Jennifer Capriati did it at 15 in 1991. “You don’t want to lose to a 15-year-old, you know?” Osaka said.
So, Naomi, could you have done something differently?
“Put the ball in the court,” came the reply.
Williams had similar issues, and even though she went from a massive deficit to even as can be, she could not do what was required in the late going. It turned out that Williams only was delaying a surprising defeat.
So tough at the toughest moments for so many years, Williams was the one who came undone, often displaying what she later called “the signature ‘Serena frustration’ look.”