Photo/Tennis World
By JOVICA ILIC
In the battle of the youngest and oldest players in the draw, the 15-year-old sensation Cori Gauff ousted the five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 18 minutes! Super talented American born in 2004 has been destined for big results ever since picking the racquet for the first time, competing as the youngest player in almost every draw so far and making a mark on both junior and pro events at such a young age.
At 13, Cori was the US Open junior finalist, winning the crown at Roland Garros a year later after just turning 14! The organizers have given her a wild card for the qualifying draw at Wimbledon and she embraced the chance with both hands, passing three rounds to become the youngest ever qualifier at Wimbledon to set that incredible Venus clash.
With no sign of nerves in the bigger part of the match, Cori outplayed the rival who had four Major crowns before she was even born, hitting 18 winners and just eight unforced errors while leaving Venus on a 16-25 ratio, not enough for the positive result.
Gauff converted all three break points against one of her idols, getting broken only once and advancing into the second round as the youngest match-winner in the tennis cathedral since Jennifer Capriati in 1991! Barely making any mistake in the opener, the young gun dropped only four points behind her already booming serve, waiting for a chance on the return and securing a break in game five after two loose backhands from Venus.
Serving for the set at 5-4, Cori landed three winners to secure the opener in an energetic style, looking confident and determined for more of the same in set number two. Venus hit a double fault to suffer a break at love in game five in set number two, with Gauff cementing it with a service winner that pushed her 4-2 up and closer to the finish line.
Williams made one last push to break back in game eight and level the score at 4-4 before wasting two game points in the next game, allowing Cori to grab a break after a volley mistake from Venus. Serving for the biggest victory in a career, Gauff saved a break point and seized the fourth match point following a forehand mistake from Williams to celebrate a stunning triumph and write history books once again on sacred Wimbledon courts.
Source: Tennis World