15-Year Old Coco Gauff Upsets Defending Champion Naomi Osaka At Aussie Open
Coco Gauff continued her dream run at the Australian Open on Friday when the 15-year-old knocked out defending champion Naomi Osaka 6-3 6-4 in a stunning upset to reach the fourth round.
Osaka became the third former women’s champion to bow out at Melbourne Park on Friday after her immediate predecessors Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams lost their respective matches earlier in the day.
Gauff is on her Australian Open debut yet playing with aplomb of a veteran also beat seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams in the first round was ecstatic and surprised in a victorious bow.
“Honestly, what is my life like? Two years ago, I lost in the first round of juniors, and now I’m here, this is crazy,” Gauff told the crowd on Rod Laver Arena.
The last time Coco Gauff made an appearance at the Australian Open, the then 13-year-old lost in the first round of both the girls’ singles and doubles events of the 2018 edition.
The young American then received a pep talk from 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, whose management company, Team8, represents her.
“He just told me to keep going, to keep working hard, and he shared some of his stories back when he was a junior. And then the next tournament I played was French Open [juniors] and I ended up winning it – maybe that had something to do with it but I mean, how could you not listen to the greatest of all time?” recalls Gauff of that conversation with the Swiss legend.
By Gerald Dandah
