Coco Gauff stunned the Australian Open defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round of the competition
American teenage sensation Coco Gauff pulled off one of the shocks of the Australian Open by defeating Naomi Osaka.
The Japanese was the defending champion and seemed to be one of the favourites for the first Grand Slam of the year.
However, Osaka put up a matured performance and couldn’t believe the result. The 15-year-old defeated the champion in straight sets and fielded several questions in the press conference.
Gauff highlighted that she knew about Osaka’s quick serves and worked on them in their second meeting.
Osaka had defeated Gauff at the US Open last year, but the teen turned things around this time around.
Gauff and the Japanese still had mutual respect for each other and the American went on to say how great Osaka actually is as a person:
“I knew it was going to be a good match, she’s a player and a good person and I think I said this in my last press conference that win or lose I think I was going to be satisfied with today’s match.
“Just because you play someone like that and play a person like that. You can’t be too disappointed after a loss because she’s been so nice to me.”
The Roger Federer connection
Another journalist posed a question about how far Gauff had come over the years. She had lost in the juniors a few seasons ago, and the American revealed that Roger Federer had given her a vote of confidence that she would do better in the future.
The American added that Federer again spoke with her after this win, and she actually met him before even coming across her parents.
The 15-year-old has been excellent in the Australian Open this year, and defeated Venus Williams in the opening round.
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Gauff didn’t avoid a question on her going on to win the tournament, but was vary that everyone else in the tournament also had a great chance.
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