IN BRIEF ‘Really nervous’ Coco beats Venus

Coco Gauff is just 15 but she now owns two Grand Slam victories over 39-year-old Venus Williams.

Gauff moved into the second round at the Australian Open in Melbourne with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Williams on Monday.

“That was really difficult. She played really well,” Gauff said. “I was really nervous.”

It was the most anticipated match of Day 1 at the first major tennis tournament of the decade, and it didn’t disappoint. The first set, in particular, was intriguing, with Gauff repeatedly pulling ahead, only to have Williams — who already had won four of her seven Slam singles trophies by the time her foe was born — rebuff her.

It wasn’t until her fourth set point that Gauff finally pulled it out. She quickly grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second and never let that edge go.

Ranked 313th, Gauff became the youngest qualifier in Wimbledon history last year, then made it all the way to the fourth round, generating a ton of buzz, before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep. She backed that up with a run to the third round at the U.S. Open, then won her first WTA singles title later in the way.

Baseball:

Longtime Mariners ace Felix Hernandez reached a minor league deal with the Braves that includes an invite to big league spring training. The righthander would get a one-year, $1 million contract if added to the Braves’ 40-man roster. Hernandez, who turns 34 in April, is coming off his worst season in the majors. The 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner went 1-8 with a 6.40 ERA in 15 starts for the Mariners and lost his place in the rotation.

College football:

Former Houston QB D’Eriq King will transfer to Miami. King played in four games for Houston last season before announcing in late September that he would take the rest of 2019 off and redshirt to preserve his final year of eligibility. King set an FBS record with least one rushing TD and at least one passing TD in each of his last 15 games with Houston.

NFL:

Former Browns and Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel will not return as the Texans defensive coordinator after four seasons in the position, ESPN reported. The Texans promoted DL coach Anthony Weaver to replace Crennel.