Coco Gauff beats Venus Williams to kick off Australian Open 2020 campaign in style
Coco Gauff repeated her Wimbledon victory over Venus Williams on Monday, advancing to the second round of the Australian Open with a 7-6 (5) 6-3 win in Margaret Court Arena.
The 15-year-old’s success in the first round at the All England Club last summer catapulted her to global stardom, but with Gauff now a top-100 player and Williams having been a doubt for the tournament with a hip injury, this time the result came as less of a shock.
The contest pitted the youngest player in the women’s draw against the oldest, and Gauff broke 39-year-old Williams’ serve in the opening game before dropping serve herself at 5-4.
Similarly, Gauff started strong in the ensuing tiebreak before seven-time Grand Slam champion Williams mounted a comeback of sorts, but the younger American held her nerve to take the set with her first set point.
The second frame was less competitive, with Gauff taking a 3-0 lead on her way to clinching the set 6-3 after a total of one hour and forty minutes on court.
Many of the scheduled first-round ties were cancelled due to heavy rain, with Britain’s Johanna Konta among the players forced to wait to get underway at the tournament.
Gauff will face Romanian Sorana Cirstea, who earlier beat Barbora Strycova 6-2 7-6 (5), for a place in the third round.
