The youngest player in Wimbledon’s main draw, Cori Gauff faced the five-time Wimbledon champion, Venus Williams (one of the oldest players on the women’s tour) in the opening round of Wimbledon Championships 2019.
The high-school girl from Florida, Gauff defeats her compatriot and idol tennis player, 6-4, 6-4 in the battle between the two American generations of tennis. She played her first ever Grand Slam match in her career and she happens to trounce upon the seven-time Grand Champion.
A beautiful lob from Cori Gauff and Venus netting the ball gave the teenager a 30-0 lead at 2-2 on Williams’ serve. Venus could come back for a 30-30 in the game with her athleticism, but a backhand unforced error from Venus aided Gauff to break the American icon.
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A controlled game from Cori Gauff was witnessed and her backhand was the highlight of the match. She was aiming for a double-break with 4-2 but a deep forehand from Venus helped her to stay at 4-3 in the opening set.
Maintaining the momentum of her game, Cori Gauff played with composure while serving for the set. She held two set points and with Venus scrambling with her tennis, Coco moves a step forward towards her second-round match.
Cori Gauff continued her fearless rallies in the second set and converted her breakpoint and later consolidated for a 4-2 lead. The warrior inside, the 39-year-old tennis player came into play as she held her serve to love and equalized the set at 4-4.
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However, the athleticism of Cori Gauff was peaking in the next game, she broke her idol in the next game and was one game away from the victory. With a prolonged game of deuces in the next game, Coco creates a story on the day one of the championships by dismissing her 24-year-older opponent!
On the net, Venus Williams said “congratulations!” Coco replied, “Thank you for everything that you did. I wouldn’t be here without you. I always wanted to tell her that.”
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Made for the big stage ✨@CocoGauff becomes the youngest player since 1991 to win in the first round of the ladies' singles, beating Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/hfgcQGdZtq
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2019