Gauff serves notice that she is a force to be reckoned with

IN a city whose climate is famous for showcasing all four seasons in one day, you could hardly keep up with the dizzying shifts at the Australian Open. Serena Williams was left looking like she will be marooned on 23 Grand Slam titles; Caroline Wozniacki was in tears as she called it quits; defending champion Naomi Osaka’s game was in disarray. Roger Federer almost added to the exodus and will probably now pay a physical price for surviving a four-hour battle with John Millman that ended at 12.49am. And left standing with a shot at the title is a 15-year-old girl, who has been given a grace period by teachers from her online study so that she can concentrate on trying to win the tournament. What felt like a watershed day left the draw opened up for Coco Gauff, who in the fourth round now meets No 14 seed Sofia Kenin. One reason is the fear factor for others in playing someone so young, not to mention so good. It definitely melted the resolve of two-time major winner Osaka, who lost 6-3, 6-4. As for Williams, after her worst result at a hard court Grand Slam for 14 years she looks destined to lose out on her dream of winning a major as a parent. For her close friend and fellow ex No 1 Wozniacki, it is all over. She retired after losing to Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur. Gauff came on to the Rod Laver Arena a matter of hours after Serena went down 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 to Chinese No 1 Qiang Wang, the No 27 seed.

What transpired was an extraordinary turnaround from when they met at the US Open and the American-bred Japanese player allowed her just three games. ‘What is my life? Oh my gosh, two years ago I lost first round in juniors and now I’m here,’ said Gauff. ‘I was just telling myself to keep fighting.’ Federer had to recover from 8-4 down in a deciding ‘champions’ tiebreak and will now face Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics. It was his first five-set win in two years and the old body does not recover like it once did.