Coco Gauff is proving to be a major sensation in the Australian Open after she advances to the third round of the tennis calendar’s first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The American tennis sensation beat Romanian player Sorana Cîrstea 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in an insanely competitive match. Gauff stumbled during the first set but quickly gathered herself in the latter rounds to deliver a win. Her victory was attributed to the more aggressive approach she took in the last two sets of the match.
.@cocogauff's Dad is all the fans 😘#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/FT2tQePU4y
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 22, 2020
Gauff will next face 2018 U.S. Open winner and defending champ Naomi Osaka. The two players memorably met in Flushing Meadows last year, with Osaka defeating the younger player. It will be their second time to go against each other in the tennis courts. Coco confessed that she was looking at his tense dad for the entire match that kept on saying “Come on kid!.”
Coco Gauff on her first Australian Open
This is the first time that Coco Gauff participated in the Australian Open since her junior tennis days.
When asked about the experience, she said that she was looking forward to the tournament. She said that it was her first time to participate in a Grand Slam tournament without having to go through a wildcard or qualifying round. This made the whole less stressful for her.
Who is Gauff’s father, Corey?
Coco’s father, Corey Gauff, has a huge role in his daughter’s career. Corey Gauff has been behind Coco’s back her entire career. He has served as her coach since she started playing professionally. He left a lucrative career as a healthcare executive so he can train her every day. He also encouraged his wife Candi to quit being an educator so she can help homeschool Coco.
Corey and Candi fully understood their daughter’s passion for sports because they were athletes as well. Candi was an ex-heptathlete for Florida State University while Corey was part of the basketball team at Georgia State University.
Gauff gets World Sports Award nod
Coco Gauff continues to reap awards for her talent as she just got announced as a nominee for the World Sports Award. The 15-year old American prodigy is nominated in the category Breakthrough of the Year for the 2020 World Sports Awards. She will be competing against fellow tennis player and 2019 U.S. Open champ Bianca Andreescu for the award. Other nominees are boxer Andy Ruiz, swimmer Regan Smith, cycler Egan Bernal, and the Japanese men’s rugby team.
The prestigious Breakthrough of the Year award has gone to tennis players before. Among them are last year’s winner Naomi Osaka, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray. The winner of the awards will be announced in Berlin, Germany on Monday, February 17. The announcement will come as part of the 20th-anniversary celebration of the Laureus World Sports Awards.
Gauff at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2020
At the moment ranked no.67, Gauff has a 3-1 win-loss record in 2020. Cori is currently having a run at the Australian Open where she bested Venus Williams 7-65 6-3 and Sorana Cirstea 4-6 6-3 7-5.
Cori Gauff will square off with Osaka in the 3rd round. The head to head is 1-0 for Osaka.
The last time that they squared off, Osaka won 6-3 6-0 in the 3rd round in New York (U.S. Open) in August 2019.
Sorana Cirstea’s ranking and performance in 2020
Now the world no.74, Sorana played her last match on the 22nd of January when she lost to Cori Gauff 4-6 6-3 7-5 in the 2nd round in Australian Open.
Cori Gauff and Sorana Cirstea played each other 1 time. The head to head is 1-0 for Gauff.
The last time that they played each other, Cori Gauff won 4-6 6-3 7-5 in the 2nd round in Melbourne (Australian Open) on the 22nd of January 2020.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.
