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Tennis Legends Laud Coco Gauff After She Matches Venus Williams and Others in Multiple Records at French Open 2021

Published 06/07/2021, 9:53 AM EDT

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via Reuters

American teenage sensation Coco Gauff is etching history at the French Open 2021. At 17, she has reached her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal, triumphing over Tunisian No.1 Ons Jabeur 6-2, 6-2.

Undoubtedly, it is one of the biggest steps forward in her career. However, what makes it exceptional is that she needed only 53 minutes to complete the task at hand.

via Reuters

Additionally, Coco also added her name to the history books of young achievers in tennis with the win. In response, many tennis legends took on Twitter to congratulate her milestone.

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Evert, Clijsters, Stubbs praise Gauff’s performance at French Open 2021

Notably, the WTA Tour had not seen a young talent reaching the last eight at a major tournament for decades. Coco has now changed that stat.

Remarkably, after her latest win, Gauff became the youngest woman to reach a Major’s QF since Nicole Vaidisova made it in 2006 Roland-Garros. Particularly on the Parisian clay, she is the youngest since Jennifer Capriati did it in 1993.

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Most significantly, Gauff is now the youngest American since Venus Williams to reach a Slam quarterfinal. The seven-time Grand Slam champion achieved this feat in the 1997 US Open and made it into the final.

Naturally, the outworldly performance from the American teenager impressed many legends of the sport. The former World No.1 and 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert exclaimed, “Wow! Coco Gauff, a stunning performance! Into the quarters! Beautiful to watch.”

Following the American, the Australian retired doubles star Rennae Stubbs and former World No.1 Kim Clijsters also tweeted. While the Belgian wrote, “So impressive,” Stubbs gave an elaborative response.

She said, “Coco Gauff on fire! Impressive against a VERY good player! Could she!?? Win? This? Slam? If it’s not now it will be VERY soon. I think clay maybe her best surface too. Helps with her forehand extreme grip. Women’s tennis is looking very healthy!”

Coco Gauff chasing maiden Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros

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The American aspirant was looking forward to meeting compatriot Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals. However, Czech professional Barbora Krejcikova caused an upset and will face Gauff in the QFs.

via Reuters

Considerably, if Coco passes the Krejcikova test, she will face some massive contenders waiting for her in the semifinal. The 2020 Roland-Garros champion Iga Swiatek, finalist Sofia Kenin, Maria Sakkari, and 18-year-old Marta Kostyuk are in contention for the race to the final from her half.

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Given her performance against Jabeur, the anticipation behind Coco to do magic has leveled up. But can she go on and win her first Grand Slam title at French Open 2021?

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Written by:

Purav Joshi

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Purav Joshi is a Tennis author at EssentiallySports. Having a degree in Films, Television and Media Production, he guided his passion for writing and journalism into the sport of aces and rallies. With over 2 years of experience as a copywriter, Purav has authored over 500 tennis articles.
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