MELBOURNE: With composure that belied her age, Coco Gauff claimed the biggest win of her young career yesterday with a stunning upset of defending champion Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open to reach the fourth round.
The 15-year-old American took advantage of a misfiring Osaka for a brutally efficient 6-3 6-4 win in just 67 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Gauff, who had beaten seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams in her Australian Open debut on Monday, said the win over Osaka ranked “somewhere around the top” of her biggest scalps.
The freaky Friday also witnessed 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams exit the women’s draw while the men’s side lost Spanish ninth seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who fell to Marin Cilic after a marathon 6-7(3) 6-4 6-0 5-7 6-3 match while Roger Federer looked defeat full in the face before rallying in the 10-point tiebreaker to edge local battler John Millman in a five-set thriller.
“I thought I played really well today and I was pretty composed and really calm,” she told reporters.
After losing to Osaka 6-3 6-0 at the US Open last year, Gauff said she felt less pressure and more confidence this time around against the Japanese third seed, whose aggressive and heavy groundstrokes had troubled her in their previous meeting.
“She definitely plays faster than most players. I think at the US Open, I wasn’t really prepared for that.
“I feel like now I’m more playing, just having fun. And I mean, winning is a cherry on top but I’m honestly having a lot of fun on the court, even in those tight situations,” said Gauff.
Break
Gauff, who said she took a break from homework to play her night matches, dazzled the crowd with her poise, holding serve efficiently before a string of backhand errors off Osaka’s racket gave the teenager the break midway through the first set.
Osaka appeared to stem the tide after fighting back from a break down early in the second set, but could not keep up the momentum against the steady Gauff.
Gauff won a second break to go up 4-3 amid another flurry of errors from Osaka, before serving out the victory with aplomb.
She next plays either China’s Zhang Shuai or American 14th seed Sofia Kenin for a place in the quarter-finals.
Osaka was the third former women’s champion to bow out at Melbourne Park yesterday after her immediate predecessors Caroline Wozniacki and Serena lost their respective matches earlier in the day. German Angelique Kerber, who won in 2016, remains in the draw.
It was the American’s earliest exit from the year’s first Grand Slam since her 2006 title defence was ended by Daniela Hantuchova. Doubts about her hopes of matching Margaret Court’s Grand Slam haul have resurfaced.
Serena has recovered from her share of Grand Slam setbacks, but this one left an especially bitter taste.
“It’s all on my shoulders,” the 38-year-old said ruefully.
“I just have to pretend like I don’t want to punch the wall, but in reality I do.”
A day before Chinese celebrate the Lunar New Year, 27th seed Wang Qiang played the match of her life, soaking up huge pressure to land the biggest scalp of her career 6-4 6-7(2) 7-5.
She wavered at times and was broken when serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set.
Wang squandered two match points in the nerve-shredding finish, and ultimately was relieved when Serena surrendered by firing into the net, her 56th unforced error.
Last year, China’s top-ranked player knocked world number one Ash Barty out of the US Open fourth round, a few months after mourning the death of her longtime coach Peter McNamara.
“I think he could see me playing today. He will be proud of me,” the 28-year-old told reporters.
Wang said she would eschew traditional Chinese New Year celebrations before preparing for her fourth round clash against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, another giantkilling rival on a surprising run at Melbourne Park.
Jabeur knocked out Serena’s good friend and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, drawing the curtain on the retiring Dane’s career in tennis.
At 38, Williams’ Grand Slam window may be closing.
“I’m way too old to play like this at this stage of my career,” she said of her match, before batting away the idea of not returning to Melbourne next year.
“I’m definitely going to be training tomorrow. That’s first and foremost, to make sure I don’t do this again.”
Earlier, Ash Barty advanced to the second week of the Australian Open following a 6-3 6-2 third round victory over Elena Rybakina.
Barty is arguably the best chance of ending Australia’s long wait for a home-grown champion at the year’s first Grand Slam, having held the world’s top ranking since last September and with the Adelaide International title under her belt.
The 23-year-old made a stuttering start to the tournament on Monday but was imperious against the highly rated Rybakina, whose power hitting and big serve led to her first WTA title and propelled her into the top-40 last year.
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