Coco Gauff advances to US Open quarterfinals for first time with straight-sets win
NEW YORK — Coco Gauff raised a fist then wagged her right index finger, responding to, and riling up even more, a loud-louder-loudest Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd that was standing and screaming. Gauff’s US Open opponent, Shuai Zhang, covered both ears with her hands to shield them from what she described later as a “boom” of sound.
Gauff and her fans were reacting excitedly to quite a point, one in which the 18-year-old Floridian raced to her right for a defensive forehand then changed directions to sprint and slide into a backhand that drew a netted volley from Zhang. Just four points later, Gauff was a quarterfinalist at Flushing Meadows for the first time.
Gauff, the French Open runner-up in June, came back in each set to beat China’s Zhang 7–5, 7–5 on Sunday and become the youngest American to make it this far at the US Open since Melanie Oudin was 17 in 2009.
“Here, I can’t hear myself scream. Makes me want to do it more. I think I’m feeding off the momentum a lot. I enjoy it,” said №12 seed Gauff, who will meet №17 Caroline Garcia of France on Tuesday. “New York is bringing out a side of me that I haven’t had since I was 15, so it’s nice.”
After trailing 5–4 in the opening set then 5–3 in the second — which she was a point from losing — Gauff was buoyed by spectators who cheered her every point and chanted, “Let’s go, Coco,” as the end neared. She improved to 4–0 at Arthur Ashe Stadium this year after having never previously won a match at the biggest arena in Grand Slam tennis.
How loud was it?
“It got so raucous in there that I got a headache. I had to take an Advil,” said Gauff’s father, Corey. “I kept pinching myself. I’m like, ‘My gosh, all of these people here for my daughter.’ You dream about this, but you never know if you’re going to realize that. She was pumping herself up, and they responded to her. It sent chills up my spine.”
Zhang, at 33 the oldest woman to reach the fourth round, said it was more noise than she has ever heard at a match.
She praised Gauff’s play, calling her “a superstar” and adding, “Everything is very good. She’s so much younger than me. Her energy is so much better. She’s faster. She’s powerful.”
They competed mostly from the baseline, and the longer the exchanges, the more success Gauff found. She claimed a 45–26 edge in points that lasted five or more strokes.
Garcia is coming off a hard-court title at Cincinnati, and she stretched her winning streak to 12 matches by eliminating №29 Alison Riske-Amritraj of the U.S. 6–4, 6–1
“I’m super excited, actually, to play Coco — in U.S., in New York, quarterfinal of a Slam. It’s great,” Garcia said.
The other quarterfinal on that half of the women’s field will be between Ajla Tomljanovic, the player who beat Serena Williams in the third round, and №5 Ons Jabeur, who was the runner-up at Wimbledon. Tomljanovic got past Liudmila Samsonova 7–6 (8), 6–1 at Louis Armstrong Stadium in a matchup between unseeded players, while Jabeur defeated №18 Veronika Kudermetova 7–6 (1), 6–4.
Tomljanovic is a 29-year-old Australian player who is now into her third Grand Slam quarterfinal after making it that far at Wimbledon the past two years. On Wednesday, Tomljanovic beat Williams in three sets in what is expected to be the last match of the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s career.
In Gauff-Zhang, the whirring of the Ashe retractable roof being pulled shut accompanied the start of the second set because of showers that started soon after, and it took a while for the artificial lights to reach full strength. The match proceeded, even though it was rather dark — and quite humid — indoors.
Zhang started getting a bit better in the back-and-forth midway through the second set, and when she hit a backhand winner of her own, she broke to lead 5–3.
Last year’s US Open doubles champion — she and Samantha Stosur beat Gauff and Catherine McNally in the final — served to force a third set and was a point away from getting there, but Gauff steeled herself and stood her ground.
That set point was frittered away when Zhang sent a backhand long. Gauff smacked — what else? — a down-the-line backhand winner for her third break point of that game, and she then delivered a good return to a corner that drew a long backhand to make it 5–4 and start a four-game, match-closing run.
Everyone has known how talented Gauff is for a while now. After all, at 15, she became the youngest qualifier in Wimbledon history in 2019, beat Venus Williams in the first round of the main draw and made it all the way to the fourth. There have been more steps along the way, more achievements (last month, she became the second-youngest doubles №1 in WTA history) and her ever-developing game (the most notable recent improvements were to her forehand and second serve) keeps carrying her closer to the top of the singles rankings and closer to a Grand Slam title.
And at this point, having the full support of more than 20,000 folks at Ashe doesn’t hurt, either.
“She’s found a home there,” Corey Gauff said. “I hope she’s going to play there for the rest of the tournament.”
Coco Gauff Biography Facts, Childhood, Life, Net worth Networth
Cori Gauff (born March 13, 2004) nicknamed coco is an American professional tennis player. If ever there was a rising star in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association), it would be none other than American sensation Cori Gauff. At just a young age of 15, she already has a WTA singles title, a WTA doubles title and reached a career ranking of 49. She is certainly a rising star. In this Coco Gauff Biography Facts, Childhood, Personal Life & Net worth, we present an in-depth look at the profile and life of the tennis player from childhood to today.
Other interesting highlights include his career, accomplishments, and other on-screen and off-screen facts about his life.
Coco Waffle Biographical facts, age, wiki
Coco gauff Childhood / early life and family history
Born March 13, 2004, Cori Gauff is the first of three children born to Candi and Corey Gauff in Delray Beach, Florida. Her father Corey, who worked as a healthcare executive, was a varsity basketball player, while her mother Candi, who works as an educator, was a track athlete while in college.
Her parents being great athletes, it was natural for Coco to take an interest in sports. Her parents even encouraged her to explore different sports while living in Atlanta. Her interest in tennis began to show when she saw her soon become the idol Serena Williams competing and winning the Australian Open 2009 at the age of 4. She started playing tennis at the age of 6, and by 8 she had already won her first competition. The Little Mo Eight and Under Nationals.
Seeing how serious and determined Coco was to become a professional tennis player, her parents made the decision to move to Delray Beach, so that she could have better training opportunities. Coco and her family stayed with her maternal grandparents for a while, before eventually having a home of their own.
Her first trainer was Gerald Logio at the New Generation Tennis Academy with whom she worked for a few years, starting at the age of 8. Dedicated to seeing their daughter succeed, Corey and Candi Gauff gave up their careers to focus on Coco. Her mother Candi took care of her home school and her father became her main trainer.
Coco gauff Junior tennis career
Coco’s hard work and dedication quickly began to pay off — she advanced to the semi-finals of the illustrious “Les Petit As 14 and Under” tournament at the age of 12. Then she finished second in her 3rd official junior tournament and in her 4th which was the 2017 US Open Junior Grand Slam. She won her 5th tournament in style, reaching the Grand Slam final without losing a set, then coming from behind to beat compatriot and runner-up Caty McNally. She continued her victory with another victory over Caty McNally in the ‘Grade 1 Junior International Roehampton’ final a month later. These victories place her first in the world junior rankings.
The last 2 Grand Slam tournaments of the year saw her reach the singles quarter-finals of both events. But she did much better in doubles at the same events, teaming up with Maria Lourdes Carle to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon and winning the tournament with McNally at the US Open.
She then represented the United States at the Junior Fed Cup, teaming up with Connie Ma and Alexa Noel. She won her rubber in singles, then teamed up with Noel to win the tournament, beating Ukraine’s representatives in an 11–9 tiebreaker. Gauff closed the year with another Class A singles title in the bag and was №2 in the world junior rankings when she finally entered the ITF women’s circuit.
Coco gauff Professional career, achievements and awards
Entering the big leagues in 2018, Coco Gauff made her ITF debut in a 25km event as a qualifier, winning her first professional match. She was given a wild card to play at the US Open in May 2018, but she lost the opener. 2019 turned out to be a much better year for her — she reached the 100km doubles final with Ann Li as her partner. His next tournament saw him reach both singles and doubles finals, winning his first WTA title with Paige Hourigan in the doubles category.
She got a wild card to enter the Wimbledon qualifying round, and she made the most of it, beating №92 Allona Bolsova and №128 Greet Mirren to become the youngest woman to enter the main draw. of Wimbledon at 15 and 3. month. Her main draw debut saw her beat №44 Venus Williams in straight sets, then advance to Round 4 after two more wins over her top 100 opponents. She then lost to eventual winner Simona Halep in the 4th round and №141 in the world rankings, its matches in the Wimbledon main draw attracting more viewers than any other on ESPN.
Gauff went on to play in the US Open Series tournament, but lost in the first round of the main draw singles. She put in a wonderful doubles performance alongside Caty McNally, to win their first career WTA title together. She went on to play the US Open as a wild card and advanced to the third round, before losing to Naomi Osaka who was №1 at the time.
Coco Gauff took part in two other tournaments before taking part in the Linz Open as a lucky loser, then winning the title after beating several opponents including Kiki Bertens who was in the top 10. She also reached the semi-finals. finals with McNally in the doubles of the same tournament. which places her in the top 100 of the WTA in singles and doubles. Gauff and McNally then ended the 2019 season with another doubles title at the Luxembourg Open
Coco gauff Privacy policy
Growing up, her father Corey wanted Coco and her brothers to follow in his footsteps and play basketball. But she just couldn’t learn how to shoot and then decided not to play basketball or any other team sport. She has always viewed the Williams sisters as her idols, and when she first played Venus Williams at Wimbledon, she mentioned that was the reason she wanted to buy a tennis racket.
Coco gauff Net worth, endorsements and cash prizes
As of April 2020, Coco Gauff’s net worth was estimated at $ 500. At just 000 years old, Coco Gauff is still in the early stages of her career. Her net worth is expected to increase exponentially in the coming years and she has already racked up over $ 16 in prizes. She already has an agreement with the New Balance company as a sponsor of her kit, and recently signed an agreement with Barilla, the Italian food company which also does business with Rodger Federer.
Sources:
https://themoney.co/en/faits-biographiques-de-coco-gauff-enfance-vie-valeur-nette-networth/
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/09/05/22/kyrgios-stuns-medvedev-at-us-open-gauff-advances
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/sep/05/gauff-advances-kyrgios-tops-no-1-medvedev/?sports
Originally published at https://www.beyondsciencetv.com on September 5, 2022.
