Coco Gauff as impressive in defeat as she is in victory after Australian Open run is ended by 21-year-old Sofia Kenin
Coco Gauff’s showed off her uncanny maturity on Sunday, after she had been knocked out of the Australian Open by another gifted young American. It is hard to know which is the more striking: the single-minded way she motors to victory, or the graceful way she accepts defeat.
Gauff could easily have been demoralised by the loss of her early lead against 21-year-old Sofia Kenin – especially when she was forced to digest a 6-0 “bagel” of a third set.
Instead, she had already come to terms with the 6-7, 6-3, 6-0 scoreline by the time she arrived in the interview room, telling reporters that, “I'm doing well right now at 15, [but] I still have so much I feel like I can get better on. I don't even think this is close to a peak for me.”
She also had kind words for Kenin, referencing her opponent’s footspeed and crafty drop-shot. Yet this was not the ideal player for her to lose to, as Kenin is likely to stand among Gauff’s leading rivals for a spot on the American Olympic team.
Only the leading four players from each nation can be invited into the Olympic singles draws, and the dominance of America’s women means that – as things stand – those four would all be members of the world’s top 20: Serena Williams, Madison Keys, Kenin and Alison Riske.
With the cut-off due to arrive after the French Open in early June, Gauff – who will stand just outside the top 50 when the next set of rankings are published – needs to pull off some spectacular results in the next four-and-a-bit months.
This is entirely within her compass, as she is a spectacular player. But she is also handicapped by the age restrictions applied to young female players, with the aim of preventing burnout. “I only have one more tournament left,” said Gauff, referring to her entitlement of 10 events in the year leading up to her 16th birthday on March 13.
At the moment, she stands fifth in the American standings for Olympic qualification. Yet the only way for her to secure a ticket to Tokyo will be to keep playing like a seasoned champion in her remaining four tournaments before the guillotine comes down – namely Indian Wells, Miami, Rome and the French Open.
“I definitely do want to play the Olympics,” added Gauff. “It will be difficult. But I'm going to try as hard as possible. It would be pretty cool.”
As for Kenin, she ended one compelling narrative with her comeback win over Gauff. Now her next match will throw up another interesting opponent on Tuesday in Ons Jabeur – the talented Tunisian shot-maker who became the first Arab of either gender to reach the quarter-final of a major.
On Margaret Court Arena, Jabeur beat Qiang Wang – the Chinese woman who had removed Serena Williams in the previous round – by a relatively comfortable 7-6, 6-1 margin. She finished the job with a stunning inside-out forehand drive – a shot which constituted her 29th clean winner of a highly-entertaining performance.
At 25, Jabeur is a late developer, probably because her touch-heavy game offers so many options that she used to become confused. “I’m trying to inspire the young generation back home either in Tunisia or the Arabic world, especially in Africa,” she said. “I mean, it's not impossible. I made it. I’ve been practising in Tunisia from the age of three through 16 or 17. I'm a 100 per cent Tunisian product!
“We don't have much experience. That's the only thing we don't have. We had Selima Sfar before, she was top 100 [in the late 1990s], but not many others. Hopefully now we can see more and more. I'm in touch with a lot of players [who] ask me what to do. I'm happy to share.”
