Coco Gauff makes history in Linz to also qualify for Australian Open main draw

American Coco Gauff has been one of the best stories from the 2019 tennis season. The 15-year-old impressed many this year when she reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon. She defeated seasoned professionals in the tournament with the most notable being seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams. Her performance at the tournament earned her praise after she became the youngest player to qualify from the opening rounds at Wimbledon.

Already qualified for the Australian Open main draw

The 15-year-old continues to make history. Gauff advanced to the quarterfinals of the Upper Austria Ladies’ Linz Open. She had earlier lost out in qualifying for the tournament. However, she got a second chance after Maria Sakkari withdrew from the tournament because of an injury. Coco played as a lucky loser in her first match against Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele. She won the match advancing to the second round to face Ukrainian Kateryna Kozlova. The American lost the first set to the Ukrainian but played better to claim the second set. She won the match 4-6 6-4 2-0 after Kozlova retired due to injury.

When she defeated Venus Williams in Wimbledon

At 15 years, 214 days, Gauff is the second-youngest player to qualify for the quarterfinals of a WTA tournament. Bulgarian Sesil Karatancheva reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2005 at 15 years 153 days. She upset Venus Williams in the round of 16 to reach the last eight. Coco also defeated Venus in the opening round of this year’s Wimbledon. She overcame the former world number winning straight sets in their opening-round match at the tournament. Over five million viewers watched her third-round match against Polona Hercog. The 15-year-old’s dream run at Wimbledon ended in the round of 16 after she lost to Simona Halep.

After qualifying for the quarterfinals at the Linz Open, Gauff will most likely break into the top 100 on the rankings. She is now certain to qualify for the Australian Open next year. The 15-year old could have earned a wild card invitation to the tournament but will now qualify automatically following her latest exploits. Coco also played in the US Open last month. She lost to Naomi Osaka in the third round. The American has said that her main goal at the Linz Open is to improve on her game. “I just want to continue to use these matches to improve. My dad told me he saw improvements even since the US Open.”

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Gauff in Linz, ranking, and results in 2019

Ranked no.110, Cori has a 15-7 win-loss record in 2019. Cori is competing in Linz where she ousted Liudmila Samsonova 6-7¹⁰ 6-2 6-2, Stefanie Voegele 6-3 7-6³ and Kateryna Kozlova 4-6 6-4 2-0 ret..