MELBOURNE: This much anticipated Australian Open second-round match was the first time American teenager Coco Gauff and 20-year-old Briton Emma Raducanu stood across the net from each other.
Gauff, 18, seeded seven, came through 6-3, 7-6 (4) in a clash that was edgy to begin with, but sizzled under the lights at the Rod Laver Arena. An exchange that promised much. By the time Gauff celebrated, fists clenched and victory cry renting the air, you got the feeling that this could be a rivalry of the future.
The 18-year-old is ranked 70 spots ahead of Raducanu, whose Cinderella run in the 2021 US Open sparked the sport with a freshness it so desperately needed. While it has been a start-stop affair since for Raducanu, Gauff, who burst into the spotlight at Wimbledon as a 15-year-old, has progressed quietly in the giant shadow of Serena Williams, working on her game and making her moves step by step.
It was that journey, the highs and lows, the steady climb to stardom that reflected in the scoreline on Wednesday. The athletic American, whose wheels should put her in contention for an Olympic medal, won five points more than her opponent in the total count, but the stat of the match was the Briton winning just two of ten breakpoint opportunities while Gauff claimed four of seven.
"I prefer to win the points in an offensive way," Gauff said, shrugging off the applause she had earned for her defence. "I know it's frustrating for a player when you're getting a lot of balls back. Speed is obviously one of my strengths. I've always used it on the defence. I'm trying to use it more offensively. I think I've been doing well with that."
"I think most of the points I won in the tie-breaker was because of my defence," said Gauff, who won four successive points from 2-2 to give herself four chances to close the match in the shootout. "But honestly, when you win the point, it's not as satisfying as a winner or a forced error."
One of the hardest workers on the Tour, Gauff relies on her work ethic when the chips are down.
"I have put in 100 percent effort every day the last couple of months. Even if I lost tonight, I feel like I put in as much of myself as I can in practice. I feel like in the long run I will have the results that I want."
