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“I Was Nowhere Near Coco Gauff’s Level at 15” – Serena Williams

Published 01/23/2020, 5:25 PM EST

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The eighth seed at Australian Open 2020 Serena Williams was wax lyrical about the 15-year-old tennis phenom and her compatriot Coco Gauff. The young lady from Florida, Gauff has been making headlines since her Wimbledon 2019, where she won six consecutive matches.

En route to the pre-quarterfinals at the grass-court major, Gauff defeated the seven-time major champion, Venus Williams. She aved a match point in the third round and broke Wimbledon’s viewership records for the first week. In July, the ‘Coco Mania’ was revered as much as the epic men’s Wimbledon championship battle between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic

Her legendary compatriot and idol Serena Williams in simply in awe with whatever she brings to the court. Not just her personality on the professional surface, Coco impresses Serena with her off the court activities as well.

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“She’s just impressive all around, from her personality to the way she plays,” the 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams said. “I think it’s just all super impressive. I was nowhere near her level at 15 either on the court or off the court, not even close. I know kids are growing up differently nowadays, so I’m not sure. But I was nowhere near as smart and eloquent as she is. It’s nice to see.”

Coco receives guidance from her and Serena’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou. Her junior circuit success earned her a sponsorship to train at Patrick Mouratoglou‘s academy. However, her full-time coach is her father Corey Gauff.

Coco Gauff vs Naomi Osaka

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On Friday, the rising star of WTA Coco Gauff and the defending champion in Melbourne, Naomi Osaka will put up the evening show on the Rod Laver Arena. They met each other at the US Open 2019 and rolled up an emotional night at Flushing Meadows.

Williams and Gauff can potentially meet in the quarterfinals of Australian Open 2020. For the ‘Serena vs Coco’ showdown, both the American ladies are two wins away from making it happen.

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She’s a fighter” – Serena Williams 

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“We both have to win the next round, so we’ll see,” Serena said. “I think she has a good chance to keep winning. She’s a fighter. I have to do what I do, play everyone at every point, so we’ll see.” Williams will meet Wang Qiang from China in the third round of the Melbourne major. Previously at US Open 2019 quarterfinals, Williams dismantled Wang 6-1, 6-0.

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Mahalakshmi Murali

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Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.
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