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Cori "Coco" Gauff celebrates after defeating Slovenia's Polona Hercog on Friday.
Ben Curtis / AP
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Ben Curtis / AP
Cori "Coco" Gauff celebrates after defeating Slovenia's Polona Hercog on Friday.
Ben Curtis / AP
Cori "Coco" Gauff, the 15-year-old tennis player who defeated Venus Williams in her first-round match, has now reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon. She is the youngest player to have progressed so far in the tournament since 1991, when Jennifer Capriati qualified for the semi-finals at the age of 15.
Gauff lost two points in her third-round match against Slovenian Polona Hercog on Friday, but returned to win 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5.
At a press conference after the match, Gauff said that she knew she could win even if she had lost 2-5 in the second set.
"I thought," I can fight. I just have to serve and then take a break, "said Gauff.
Gauff, the youngest woman to qualify for Wimbledon in the modern era, plays the most prestigious games of her career. She made 43 unforced errors in Friday's match against Hercog, but she had only 18 un-drawn errors in her first two matches combined.
"I was not really tired," said Gauff after the match against Hercog, which lasted two hours and 47 minutes. "I'm young, I have a lot of energy and I usually play two games a day. [in the junior tennis circuit]. "
The age of Gauff means that the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) limits the number of events that it can participate in. According to the New York Times, the WTA put the rules into effect in 1994, in response to the burnout problems faced by young tennis stars – including Capriati. A 15-year-old is usually allowed to compete in 10 professional tournaments in a year, but Gauff's success has earned her an increase of two additional events based on merit.
On Monday, Gauff will face No. 7 seed Simona Halep. Halep won the French Open title last year and reached four Grand Slam finals. Gauff stated that she had never played against Halep nor practiced with her, but she "knows how she plays just by looking at her a lot".
Gauff, currently ranked 313th in the world, is a major player on the junior tennis circuit. In 2018, she won the Junior French Open and in 2017, at age 13, she became the youngest player to qualify for the girls' singles final at the American Open.
Venus Williams won two Wimbledon titles at the birth of Gauff. Gauff said that beating Williams, whom she considered an idol, represented a real turning point for her in terms of celebrity.
"Life has changed in seconds," said Gauff.
But Gauff has long been clear about his ambitions in tennis.
"I want to be the best of all time," said Gauff at the age of 14. No days off. "I want to be better than Serena and I want to have that Grand Slam record one day."
Serena Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slam titles and holds the record for the Open Era event, will face Carla Suarez Navarro in a free match on Monday.
Friday's win means Gauff earned nearly $ 200,000 in winnings at Wimbledon. When a reporter asked her how she was planning to spend that money, she replied that she was not sure about it.
"I mean, I can not buy a car, because I can not drive," said Gauff. "I hate to spend money to be honest, so I do not really know." She said that she might be buying hoodies from Jaden Smith's clothing line.
The most unexpected attention that Gauff said she had received was from Miss Tina Knowles-Lawson, mother of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles.
"[She] I posted on Instagram and I was screaming, "Gauff said. I hope Beyoncé saw this. I hope that she talked to me about her daughter, because I would like to go to a concert. "
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