Coco Gauff was knocked out in the last 16 by former World No.1 Simona Halep. Coco Gauff had a dream start and a captivating run in this years Wimbledon.
She surprised everyone right from the start when she qualified as a 15-year-old player to pulling out some of the biggest upset in the sports. No one would have thought that the 15-year-old could compete with the seasoned pros, let alone stand on the same footing as them and defeat them. That’s exactly how this year’s Wimbledon started for Coco Gauff. She provided the tournament with one of the biggest upsets when she defeated the veteran Venus Williams in the opening match. All considered, she had a dream run this year. Before the tournament, the majority of people wouldn’t even have heard of her but that all changed. The same people who were unaware of her started cheering and rooting for her to win.
Gauff’s fairy-tale run included her win over Venus Williams, Magdalena Rybarikova and Polona Hercog. She fought her way through to final 16, but a more significant challenge awaited her, Simona Halep, former World No.1. As expected after her impressive run, she had vast chunks of fans cheering her on. But everyone was expecting an end this run as the competition progressed. Simona Halep woke Gauff up after her dream run. Seventh seed Halep, beat the American qualifier 6-3 6-3 to advance to the quarter-finals. Halep will face China’s Zhang Shuai in the quarter-finals.
Gauff didn’t seem well during the match, and later in the second set, she was seen calling a doctor. Gauff seemed nervous, facing an opponent of Halep’s caliber in such a big match. She had her serve broken in the very first game. Gauff was unlike her cool and calm self. She lost her cool during the game and frustration crept in when she was loosing. She couldn’t regain her quiet person throughout the match. Later, after the match, Gauff told her that she wasn’t feeling very well, but she still played her best. She was not sure what it was, but she claimed to have fun even though she was loosing.
Gauff’s future seems very bright as she’s still very young and has an abundance of talent that’ll help her fill the blank spaces in her game. Let’s hope a bright future for the future champion.